In The World We Once Knew
by dreaming-beyond92
Summary: Lily Potter survived Lord Voldemort's attack in Godric's Hollow at the end of October, 1981. Where has she been for fourteen years? Who was involved in the cover up claiming her death; can a spark between two old friends be reignited; how will Harry react to the news she has been alive for so long; and where do the vampires and werewolves fit into this picture? RxLxS; JxB;
1. Bloodsuckers and Chaos

A/N: Over the years I have read so many incredible stories on this website and I thought it would be an experience to write my own version of what I would've liked to happen; – had J.K. Rowling's world ever crossed over with Stephanie Meyers'. I thank both these incredible women for the two worlds they gave me during my childhood and adolescence. Disclaimer: I do not own anything from their creations, besides the following plot. xx

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**Chapter One – Bloodsuckers and Chaos**

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**_15 September 1994_**

**_Sam Uley POV_**

Unable to comprehend what had actually happened, I willed my body to push on in the darkness. The sheriff's daughter was curled up in my arms as I sped through the lush forest, back to the main street. I found it hard to believe that this young girl had managed to trample out as far as she had, into these woods. From everything I had personally heard of her, she did not match the description. Bella Swan came across as a fragile, careless and selfish individual. In my opinion, she should have been in a school with books and butterflies, rather than out fraternising with dangerous mythical creatures. I rolled my eyes at my own humorous thoughts. How had bloodsuckers become such renowned beings anyway? Reflexively, I gagged thinking of the modern day representations of Count Dracula and myths of crucifixes and holy water. In all fairness, there were also popular myths about werewolves circling the modern world too. Chuckling to myself, I glanced down at the teenager I was carrying and was pleased to see she had remained unconscious. I had had no intention of making conversation with her anyway. The quicker I returned her to the safety of her father, the faster I could remove myself from the chaos she had caused in Forks this evening. I was actually quite glad that I had had very little to do with Charlie Swan's daughter before today. Regardless of what Billy Black said; I could tell this girl was trouble. Seriously, which sane teenage girl chose to have a vampire for a boyfriend? Possibly only the moronic type.

"He's gone," she mumbled out miserably.

"I know Isabella; I'm sorry," I soothed calmly. I was nothing but calm, I was ecstatic. The leeches had left town; of course I would be happy. Who gave two pints of blood about her silly broken heart? I held in my laughter out of politeness and continued to leap over all the fallen branches and mossy logs.

"He left me," she whined, looking up desperately at me.

"Go back to sleep," I stated firmly, becoming bored of her mumble. Within minutes Bella had closed her eyes again and I huffed in frustration. I was very eager to find the clearing and get rid of the bundle in my arms. My duty and responsibility to the tribe was nearly complete. I had already established that the girl wasn't hurt; she was merely cold and exhausted. Considering the alternative; that bloodsucker could have left her in a far worse condition this evening. She was safe, alive and physically unharmed; that was all that mattered, to me at least.

In no time at all, we emerged into the brightness of the street lights. It was easy to make out the deep babble of male voices. As I approached the clearing and the commotion up ahead, I slowed to a brisk walk, calling out before us;

"I've got her!" The chaotic babble ceased, and then picked up again with more intensity. Within seconds there were familiar faces and voices asking me multiple questions, hovering over her unconscious form, as I carried her towards the front door of her house. There was no doubt; she had managed to stir up quite a storm this evening and all because of a stupid pretty leech.

"No, I don't think she's hurt," I answered someone's question in the distance. "No, she hasn't said much," another person asked me. "She just keeps saying 'He's gone,' and drifting in and out of consciousness," I replied. "Where is the sheriff anyway?" I asked in frustration, wondering where the man was.

"Here, I'm here," Chief Swan shouted out, emerging from the house hurriedly, "Bella, honey, are you all right?" the young girl broke out of her unconscious state, recognising her father's frantic voice and nodded weakly in response. Charlie Swan placed his arms underneath his daughter and removed her from my hold, quite unsteadily too. I followed them into their house, my arm ready to catch the teenager; in case the sheriff couldn't handle her weight. He made it over to the couch and gently placed the young girl on it. Bustling around the living room, he gathered up a soft toy and purple woollen blanket to drape over her. I found this rather amusing; the girl was eighteen, wasn't she? I shook my head and took a few steps to the far corner of the room. I sat down on one of the dining chairs quietly, wondering whether it was necessary for me to be in their house any longer. Within moments, I heard the trampling of feet from the floor above, as the captivating red head came rushing down the staircase and into the living room. She failed to notice me as she hurried over to the couch, evidentially worried about the teenager.

"Bella? Bells! Where have you been?" cried Lily dropping to the floor in front of the couch, and running her fingers through her young niece's damp hair. Bella seemed pleased by her aunt's presence, before she burst out crying in the older woman's arms. Chief Swan returned outside his house. I listened to him as he dismissed the remainder of his police unit who had helped out with the search that evening. Soon enough, the noisy thrum of engines could be heard disappearing down the street. I hated auto-mobiles; there was no need for them with my speed and agility. I tuned back in to a conversation Charlie was having outside with a colleague. They were discussing the resignation of the older bloodsucker from the hospital. How was it even possible for him to be a qualified doctor? Why wasn't it illegal for the leech to be around so much blood all the time?

"Thank you for finding her Sam," Lily spoke steadily, interrupting my thoughts. She was looking up at me from the floor, tear streaks running down her face. For a woman her age, she was beautiful. I was surprised she had even remembered my name.

"It's my job ma'am," I replied quickly, not looking at her face.

"No, you and the boys from La Push didn't need to do that for us," she answered back evenly, "you could've left it to the police, and for that I am grateful." I nodded at her in understanding, and looked away from the couch. She had spoken with an air about her, as if she was trying to convey something to me without really speaking it at all. I put it down to my paranoia and heightened senses, dismissing her words lightly. Lily went back to fussing over her niece and I pretended to be fascinated by a bunch of photos on their mantle piece. Gradually, the chit chat and commotion ceased entirely outside. I wondered whether any of my boys had remained in the vicinity. The sheriff came back inside his house and leant down over his daughter, to kiss her on the forehead.

"What did that boy do to you honey?" Charlie asked naively, triggering further sobbing and carrying on from her. "See, I told you Lils, he did hurt her!" Bella sobbed harder, shaking her head miserably. This bewildered the poor man even more. I watched in amusement as Chief Swan prodded his daughter for information and aggravated her terribly. If he only knew Bella had been dating a vampire. I quickly imagined the entertaining scene that would unfold, with the sheriff finding out about the vampires and werewolves in Forks. Yes, I was bored out of my brain and I didn't want to be in their house. Sometimes I wished I could ignore my tribal duties; the girl was safe, I should be able to go home now.

"I think I might take Bella upstairs to shower Charlie. Can you make her some hot chocolate in the mean time?" Lily instructed and guided the trembling girl up the staircase and into the main bathroom. Between Bella's insecurities and Charlie's naivety, it was good to see the older woman handling matters under this roof. The last thing we needed was the teenager becoming suicidal because of her new heartache. The second Lily had vanished upstairs, I smiled and stood happily. I figured this was my cue to leave the house; I was not hanging around to hear what the girl had to say, regardless of my responsibility to the pack. I shook the sheriff's hand firmly and told him to call me if he required any further assistance that evening. Charlie walked me out the front door, and waved me off as I made my way down the street.

I began to think over the events of the evening. Beginning with Billy's frantic call regarding Bella's disappearance, I continued my reflection, right up until Lily's bizarre thank you in the living room. Charlie and Lily Swan were an interesting duo. From my personal dealings with the two siblings, it was obvious the red head adored the Chief. Lily had been in Forks with Charlie for the past fourteen years. No one was really certain where she had been prior to that; quite frankly, no one had really been that curious anyway. I quickly thought back to a barbeque on the La Push reservation during my childhood, in which Charlie had brought his twenty-one year old sister to meet the tribe. I would've only been five or six years old at the time. Since then, I had seen Lily around on multiple occasions; parties, barbeques and even in town too, while I was growing up. During my later teenage years I had secretly crushed on her; I was sure many of the males from La Push had at some point or another. Though overall, Lily Swan had mostly kept to herself over the past decade. Aside from her life with Charlie and her job at the local kindergarten in Forks, I was unsure what she actually did with her time. These past twelve months had kept her busy with Bella staying in town; though prior to that she was rarely seen.

Diverting my thoughts away from Lily once again, I turned around in the middle of the street and glanced back at their house. The front door had been locked shut for the night. I sighed tiredly; at least the silly girl was safe now. I continued walking down the street slowly, my human senses not picking up the faint sugar sweet scent in the air. It was the quietness of the street that unsettled me. I glanced around cautiously, feeling uncertain. It took me a second to realise I was being watched, meaning the sheriff's house was being watched too. The bloodsuckers had not left town after all. Feeling threatened and territorial, I phased into my wolf form right there in the middle of the street and trotted straight back to the front yard of the Swan residence. Pacing a full circle around their lawn to mark my territory, I gave a high pitched howl. It was a sound the average human ear couldn't hear; rather, it was meant to sting the leeches' eardrums for a few seconds. They could all clearly see that the property was guarded for the night. I was not moving a single paw. If those bloodsuckers tried anything foolish, there would be chaos.

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A/N: **Please review guys!** I'm dying to hear what you all think. It's my first fanfic, and I could really do with the feedback. Also apologies in advance for the timeline of this story jumping all over the place. Hopefully it's not too confusing and you all appreciate the suspense. xx


	2. The Witch in Forks

A/N: Over the years I have read so many incredible stories on this website and I thought it would be an experience to write my own version of what I would've liked to happen; – had J.K. Rowling's world ever crossed over with Stephanie Meyers'. I thank both these incredible women for the two worlds they gave me during my childhood and adolescence. Disclaimer: I do not own anything from their creations, besides the following plot. xx

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**Chapter Two – The Witch in Forks**

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_**15 September 1994**_

_**Lily Potter POV**_

There was nothing but sheer relief flowing through my body as I sat quietly by the couch, stroking my niece's hair. The girl in front of me was reckless and insecure. I had known this from day one. I had seen this girl grow up over the years and spent summer after summer, giving her my undivided attention. Living the lifestyle she had with her mother in Arizona, Bella had been emotionally neglected over the years. Her low self esteem had troubled me for over a decade and I had tried countless tactics to boost her confidence whilst she was visiting Charlie and me. Her stunt this evening was just another one of her many emotional frenzies. My niece was not suicidal; this I knew for sure, though, I would consider her highly strung. A breakup with her vampire boyfriend; Edward was precisely what I had hoped to avoid.

It had taken me a matter of days to sense the magical presence here in Forks, after my arrival fourteen years ago. I was well aware of the local werewolf tribe out on the La Push reservation, as well as the vegetarian vampire coven living in the mansion on the banks of the Calawah River. My niece had been dating Edward for majority of the past year. Strangely, I had not been concerned by it. Regardless of their nature, I trusted all of them; there was something assuring about the type of people they were.

Bella's disappearance this afternoon had triggered absolute chaos and mayhem for the town of Forks. Charlie had summoned the help of his entire police unit, creating nothing but an unbearable racket. I really couldn't stand emergency sirens; and annoyingly enough, every cop on my brother's police team favoured them. When a girl didn't want to be found, no number of sirens was going to assist in her recovery. Knowing her only hope of discovery was the werewolves, I quickly phoned my brother's closest friend; Billy, and informed him of Bella's disappearance.

Sitting by her side on the floor, I began to hush and soothe away all her sobbing. Charlie's insistent interrogating was driving me nuts as well. My brother had many a flaw, tactlessness was only one of them.

"I think I might take Bella upstairs to shower Charlie. Can you make her some hot chocolate in the mean time?" I interrupted his steady stream of questions, pulling Bella off of the couch. I guided her to the staircase and turned around to smile at Sam sitting quietly behind us. We really did owe him and his pack for locating her. Leaving Bella in the main bathroom, I quickly rummaged through her wardrobe for some clean clothes and left them on her bed. By the time I returned downstairs, the werewolf had left my brother's house for the evening. I shuffled tiredly into the kitchen to join my brother.

"I can't believe that boy left her all alone in the woods like that," Charlie began yelling the moment I entered his cramped kitchen.

"You don't know that for sure Charlie," I replied calmly.

"Well it seems like the most logical explanation!" he protested in exasperation.

"Yes of course, because the considerate gentlemen we've seen around here this last year – certainly abandoned your reckless, spontaneous daughter. Very good Charlie, that's quite logical indeed," I chastised my brother sarcastically.

"Bella isn't reckless," Charlie argued stubbornly and I rolled my eyes.

"Oh no, and you're not stubborn," sighing quickly, I removed the tea pot from his hands and began stirring cocoa powder into a mug for my niece.

"No. I'm not," mumbled Charlie gruffly, taking out a mug for himself, "Gimme' some of that stuff," he huffed as I smirked and poured him some hot water for his own hot chocolate. I truly adored my older brother. His stubbornness aside and all; I owed the past fourteen years of my life to Charlie. He had taken me in and embraced me as part of his own mundane life, when I had had no where else to go. I did also know that without me, Charlie would have probably done without a home-cooked meal for a good portion of the past fourteen years. I smiled to myself reminiscing over all the summer memories of little Bella, visiting Forks and playing dress-ups with me. Having Bella in town this past year had been an experience in itself; mythical creatures aside and all. I knew Charlie would not have coped with a hormonal teenage girl under his roof, had I not been here to manoeuvre him through all the mood swings.

"I'm going to take this up to Bella, and get her into bed," I finished stirring the cocoa powder and dropped the teaspoon into the sink for washing.

"No, bring her downstairs, I want a word with her," Charlie snapped and I raised my eyebrow in frustration. How could he not understand, that now was not the time to confront Bella? Cleverly, I picked up the hands-free telephone from the kitchen bench top and tossed it over to my brother.

"Here, have a word with Billy instead," I turned my back on him, "You can speak with Bella in the morning, she needs to rest now." With that I trudged up the staircase, cocoa in hand, leaving Charlie grumbling on the phone to his best friend.

"Tink?" I called out quietly, "Tinkerbella, where – are – you?" I said in my childish sing-song way, peeping into my niece's bedroom. I smiled as I heard Bella's quiet chuckle from her walk-in wardrobe, within her room. I walked into the girl's dimly lit sanctuary and handed her the hot chocolate.

"I'm a little old for hide and seek Aunt Lils," Bella hiccuped taking her first sip of the warm drink, wiping her eyes from all the crying.

"Never!" I mocked lightly. Reaching over to the pile of clothes on the floor, I continued hanging up Bella's clothes in the wardrobe, while the young girl crawled into her bed. Sometimes I really missed magic; a flick of my wand could have had the entire pile hanging in the wardrobe neatly.

"You make the best hot chocolate, have I said that before?" Bella smiled gratefully at me.

"You have," I smiled back at her and walked over to shut the lilac curtains in her room. The closer I got to the window, the more my fingertips began to tingle. This was usually the signal I would get, alerting me to the presence of a magical creature or being. Obviously there was a vampire or werewolf somewhere outside the house. I rolled my eyes, irritated by the fact that they were simply everywhere. I tugged on the draw string, and shut the curtains to the small room. Within seconds the tingling in my fingers ceased.

"This would taste a lot better with marshmallows though," Bella commented cheekily and I smiled happily at her, noticing the change in her mood.

"Well then, you tell your father to stock up on marshmallows when he does his next grocery shop," I retorted back, walking over to kiss Bella goodnight on the forehead.

"Aunt Lils, how long did it take you to stop missing James?" she asked me quietly and I smiled sympathetically at the girl.

"Sometimes, the healthiest thing for you – is to forget you ever knew him," I replied earnestly.

"That's what he said to me before he left; 'It will be as if I'd never existed,' and naturally Edward thought to remove every trace of himself from my room," she cried miserably. I glanced quickly around the small room, visualising the young male dashing around it, hastily picking up sentimental bits and pieces and jumping out the window again.

"Surely Edward could not be so heartless," I raised my eyebrow at Bella.

"No that's just Edward being thoughtful and considerate," she whined back sarcastically.

"I doubt it very much Tink; besides, how could he have got into your room anyway?" I asked rhetorically, receiving a mere shrug of the shoulders in response. My knowledge of the vampires and werewolves had been quite helpful over the years. I generally knew when to prevent Charlie from going on a fishing trip or to cancel a kindergarten excursion or picnic due to a vampire threat in the area. Though, this last year had been hard for me with Bella staying in Forks. Not being able to tell her, I knew of Edward's true nature was painful. I had concealed my knowledge of the vampires and werewolves for years. Yet some how, these last few months specifically, had been unbearable.

I walked to her room door, and turned off the bedroom light switch.

"He'll come back for me, I know he will," Bella commented dismally, barely trying to sound convincing.

"I'm sure he will Bells," I smiled. Though I was certain, the town of Forks would be much better off without the coven of vampires.

"Maybe when I wake up tomorrow morning, this will have just been a bad dream," Bella wished unrealistically.

"Would you like me to stay over tonight, or just come back tomorrow morning?" I whispered across the room, concerned about the young girl's sanity.

"Whatever is comfortable for you," said Bella, turning over under her quilt, "Tell Charlie I'm sorry for worrying him."

Standing in her bedroom doorway, I wasn't sure whether to bring a chair upstairs and sit outside her room all night or leave for the evening. I had to admit, the bond between Edward and Bella had been unique. I just hoped with time, she would be able to move on from the heartache and longing. I frowned unhappily; it had taken me years to move on after my late husband; James' death. And strangely enough, the connection between the mind-reading vampire and my niece had seemed to be far deeper than any connection I had ever witnessed before. Then again, falling in love with a vampire was a once in a lifetime occurrence. Just as falling out of love with one was a rarity. Knowing there was not much else I could do for her this evening, I decided to head home for the night.

"Goodnight Charlie," I called to my brother as I stepped off the staircase and picked up my keys from the mantle piece in the living room. Still on the phone to Billy, Charlie waved goodbye as I closed his front door behind me and walked out onto the street. The chilly air hit my face immediately and made my nose and fingertips tingle. I shivered quickly; taking a few steps away from the house. I realised the sensation in my fingers was not because of the cold. I was not alone.

I waited a few more seconds for the uneasiness to wash through me, which usually came whenever there was a threatening or unfamiliar magical presence nearby. Assured that the feeling had not filled me, I took a few deep breaths. Whatever it was; vampire or werewolf, it was someone I knew personally. Gathering up a little of my dormant Gryffindor courage, I peeked around the side of Charlie's house. Standing there beneath the tree outside Bella's window, was a great black wolf. I was nothing short of terrified. I whipped my head back around the side of the house, out of his view. The wolf was Sam; he obviously hadn't returned home this evening. It was the first time I had ever seen one of the La Push werewolves and he was truly a sight to be seen. Just maybe not in the middle of the night and especially not while I was entirely alone. Closing my eyes for a few seconds, I took another few deep breaths. This was Sam, I had nothing to fear. I knew for a fact, that a werewolf's temperament was the exact same as his human personality traits. Sam was a level headed, composed young man. I decided this was an opportunistic chance for me to speak to him, as I had wanted to for a while. I took the most courageous step I had taken in a few years, and cleared my throat. The wolf snapped his head up sensing my presence; I was in full view of him.

"You know, eavesdropping isn't the most polite thing Sam," I called out to him, using all my will power to remain calm and composed. I suppressed the shiver that was threatening to run down my body, and levelled out my breathing. It was necessary that he know I was not scared or fazed to see a werewolf in my brother's backyard. "I suggest you change back into your human form so we can have a chat," I stated firmly.

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A/N: Please review guys! I'm dying to hear what you all think. It's my first fanfic, and I could really do with the feedback. Also apologies in advance for the timeline of this story jumping all over the place. Hopefully it's not too confusing and you all appreciate the suspense. xx


	3. The Hogwarts Champions

A/N: Over the years I have read so many incredible stories on this website and I thought it would be an experience to write my own version of what I would've liked to happen; – had J.K. Rowling's world ever crossed over with Stephanie Meyers'. I thank both these incredible women for the two worlds they gave me during my childhood and adolescence. Disclaimer: I do not own anything from their creations, besides the following plot. xx

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**Chapter Three – The Hogwarts Champions**

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_****__**31 October 1994**_

_**Severus Snape POV**_

Standing in the entrance foyer with the Headmaster watching these three idiots, may have just been the highlight of my miserable day. Regardless of how much I despised the two red-headed twins, I knew they were gifted. Lee Jordan on the other hand, followed them around as if his life depended on it.

"We're going to split the thousand Galleons between the three of us if one of us wins," the dark skinned boy commented to the rest of the Great Hall proudly. I glanced sideways at the Headmaster to gauge his thoughts.

"They don't really have that little faith in my magic, do they Severus?" Professor Dumbledore whispered to me, as we stood in the shadows surveying the commotion in the Great Hall. Students from all years at Hogwarts had gathered in the Hall that morning to take a closer look at the Goblet of Fire. Others had woken up early to glimpse which of their fellow students were entering their names in the Tournament.

"I think they have a misguided faith in their own capabilities Headmaster," I offered flatly. Any student at Hogwarts was stupid to question Dumbledore's methods or use of the magical art.

"I'm not sure this is going to work, you know," said Hermione cautiously. "I'm sure Dumbledore will have thought of this." I glanced sideways at the Headmaster again and noticed the triumphant grin on his face.

"Very bright girl, that Granger is," Dumbledore nodded quietly in approval. I rolled my eyes at the old man. It was about time I found a better source of entertainment. Surely my own sanity was at risk, given the amount of time I was spending with this fool.

"Unlike her two minions," I indicated towards Potter and Weasley, who were sitting on either side of Granger within the Great Hall. They were both clapping their hands aimlessly in front of them, cheering on the twins.

"One day Severus, you will owe your existence to Harry and when that day comes, you will regret ever belittling him," Dumbledore chastised me lightly. I had learnt over the years to merely ignore his words of wisdom and spare myself the time trying to piece his advice together.  
"What will happen to them once they cross that line?" I raised my eyebrow curiously as the Weasley twins took a sip of their Ageing Potion and the Hall broke into applause.

"They will have to join Miss Fawcett from Ravenclaw and Mr Summers of Hufflepuff in the Hospital Wing." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he twirled his white beard between his thumb and pointer finger. I watched the old man in front of me quite incredulously. It only took me another second or so to imagine the two twins with long white beards sprouting from their chins. Dumbledore never ceased to amaze me. "Is that a smile I see on your face Severus?" he asked in amusement and I quickly relaxed my facial muscles.

"I don't know what you're talking about Headmaster," and with that, I turned on my heel and sped off across the entrance foyer. "I expect to see this later tonight!" I called back at the old man and heard his feint chuckle behind me. I knew Dumbledore would allow me to view his memory in the Pensieve if I bothered him for it. "Move out of my way!" I barked at a handful of third year girls, giggling in the corridor. They squealed hurriedly and parted to either side of the walkway as I billowed past them. I really did enjoy doing that. Smirking to myself, I descended to the Slytherin dungeons and ran into Draco Malfoy.

"Good morning sir," he buttered up to me, as was expected of him.

"Malfoy, you have class in ten minutes…" I snarled effectively and he scrambled out of my way, followed by Parkinson and Zabini. On most occasions I wouldn't bother with the Malfoy boy. I did not possess the time or the patience to deal with the usual blood status crap that his father; Lucius, placed such emphasis on. Though, given that I had a reputation to uphold among the Malfoy's social circle, I did seldom make the effort to praise Draco during his classes. Blaise Zabini on the other hand, was one of the few Slytherin males whom I personally found quite pleasant. He was intelligent, witty, composed and reserved where he ought to be. Why couldn't every young Slytherin male obtain those qualities? My House would have earned a great deal more house points, if some of them had held their tongues and kept their arrogance in check.

There was no reason for me to slam my classroom door behind me, though I did anyway. The loud echo reverberated off the deep dungeon walls scaring the cornish pixies in their cages. I never found out why Dumbledore had wanted me to keep those pesky creatures down in the potions classroom after Lockhart had left the school. I pointed my wand at the noisy cage and froze all the pixies immediately before cursing out loud in frustration.

"Goodness, someone woke up on the wrong side of their four-poster this morning," I spun around in shock and found Pomona Sprout rummaging around the back of my potions cupboard. She glanced up and down at me and went back to fiddling with my supplies. "You ought to try a mild sleeping draught Professor."

"May I ask what you are doing in my supply cabinet?" I queried in frustration.

"Oh Professor, I thought Minerva told you I was brewing a new potion for Madam Pomfrey to heal severe burns and lacerations," the woman chirped on. I waved my hand dismissively and exited the classroom, into my adjoining office. Compared to some of the other school professors, Pomona Sprout was quite tolerable. She stayed out of people's way and minded her own business. I liked that about her. What I didn't like, was the fact that she always left my cabinets untidy and out of order, when she came looking for supplies. Sometimes I wished Poppy Pomfrey would just come to me for help with medicinal potion brewing. I would get it done in half the time too.

After shutting my office door quietly, I sat down and reclined back in my desk chair. It had been an awfully long morning. Tonight was going to be worse with the school feast and the selection of the Tournament Champions. I quickly thought back over the morning and remembered noticing Hagrid hanging numerous pumpkins around the school staircases and entrance foyer for the Hallowe'en Feast this evening. Up until last year, I had hated the feast of Hallowe'en. It was not a day in my yearly calendar, which I particularly wanted to celebrate or remember. This year however, I hoped the evening would be decent. I had generally never been in the mood for the feast or festivities during previous Hallowe'en's at Hogwarts.

Living in a house with a Muggle father who despised magic; the fun tradition of dressing up and remembering the dead, eventually became the opportunistic chance for him to make a mockery of the magical world. Prior to my years as a student at Hogwarts, I had lived out on Spinner's End with my parents. Each year I had watched my father beat my mother with a handful of cooking utensils, screaming at her to cook with them instead of using her wand for everything. He would then grab an old dirty bed sheet from the linen closet with two small holes cut in it, and throw the cloth over my head and push me outside our front door. I would be made to stand outside our front door in the cold wind, with a filthy bed sheet draped over me, watching all the other children in the neighbourhood, skip around from house to house trick-or-treating. None of the kids would ever approach our small terraced property, probably because their parents had warned them to stay away from us. In actual fact, they were all the same kids who threw stones and eggs at our house, every other month of the year. There was not one child in the neighbourhood I could name, who hadn't laughed, stared, pointed or thrown something at our house over the years. Not one; except for the two Evans girls.

I recalled one particular Hallowe'en evening, in which my father had shoved me outside the front door with the sheet draped over my head. Lily and her older sister had been visiting a nearby house collecting sweets. The moment she caught sight of me she had sprinted over in her fairy costume carrying her basket of treats. After giving me a quick hug, she grabbed my wrist and placed a handful of her sweets in my palm. She then told me I looked rather silly under the old bed sheet and that she would see me the following day in the park. That had been the first time Lily Evans had ever hugged me. After she had run back to her sister, my father had pulled me inside and asked me who my little girlfriend was. I denied that Lily meant anything to me and had received four whacks across my face for lying to him. Luckily for me, the following year I had started my schooling at Hogwarts and I hadn't had to endure Hallowe'en with my father on Spinner's End. As first years, Lily and I had spent that first Hallowe'en together, watching the pumpkins being carved for the feast later that night. We had skipped across the school grounds during lunch time before James Potter and his friends had approached us and started to…

"Did you hear me?" Professor Sprout barged into my office interrupting my thoughts. She looked like she had seen a ghost.

"Excuse me?" I snapped out of my daze and sat up straight.

"Are you coming down to the Feast or not? We're already late!" she had started bustling out of my office before I had had the chance to check my clock for the time. Realising we had barely a minute to spare, we both bolted out of the dungeons and up to the decorated Hall. Slipping in behind the staff table, we sat down as the Great Hall doors opened to let in the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang guests.

"Wouldn' min' takin' one of those home," Mad-Eye mumbled happily, indicating towards some of the young ladies entering the Hall from the Beauxbatons Academy. I pretended not to hear his comment as I caught sight of Igor Karkaroff approaching the staff table with Olympe Maxime. Glancing beside me, I realised one of the two remaining seats available at the High Table was next to me. I cursed to myself, praying to Merlin it was the gigantic Headmistress that took the seat beside me, rather than the former Death-Eater. It seemed my luck was in order this evening as I stood up respectfully and kissed the giant's outstretched forehand, before she sat down between Dumbledore and I.

The Feast was a spectacle as always; overflowing dishes of food, unbearable noise, floating ghosts, wine goblets spilling over and unnecessary conversations along the staff table. The entire meal was horrendous; I just wanted to go to bed. I waited patiently for my fellow staff members to consume every last spoonful of their pudding or pumpkin pie. Judging by the constantly craning necks in front of me, the impatient expressions on every face and the standing up to see whether Dumbledore had finished eating; every student in the hall was also eager to hear who the Champions were and for the Feast to end. Finally the Hogwarts Headmaster rose to his feet and announced to the mass of students, that the Goblet was almost ready to make its decision. Waving his wand in a sweeping motion across this Hall, every candle was extinguished, leaving only a few lit within some of the carved pumpkins. I had to admit, the dark and gloomy effect was quite chilling; I shivered subtly as the goose bumps began forming on my skin. Dumbledore made his way towards the large magnificent chalice standing in front of the staff High Table. The Goblet of Fire now shone more brightly than anything in the whole Hall, the sparkling bright, bluey-whiteness of the flames almost painful on the eyes. Without warning, the flames in the Goblet suddenly turned red and sparks began to fly into the air. A tongue of flame shot into the air, followed by a charred piece of parchment – which Dumbledore caught lightly.

"The Champion for Durmstrang," he read, in a strong, clear voice, "will be Viktor Krum." The Hall erupted in applause as Krum stood from his seat at the Slytherin table and made his way across the floor, into the next chamber. After another few seconds the flames in the Goblet turned red again and Dumbledore announced the following champions to be Fleur Delacour from Beauxbatons and Cedric Diggory from Hogwarts. I had never liked that kid much; I had always considered him far too arrogant for a Hufflepuff. He reminded me of James Potter.

Dumbledore waited patiently for Diggory to exit the Hall into the side chamber, before he continued to address the congregation of excited students. He babbled on about the three tasks the Champions would have to compete and roughly which dates during the year they would occur. He encouraged the students before him, to participate in the Tournament through cheering and promoting school spirit. But as he continued to speak, the attention within the Hall began to shift quickly to the lonesome Goblet, standing out of the way. The flames emerging from its opening had turned red again. Dumbledore too, had noticed this and abandoned his speech. He made his way over to the large chalice just as it shot out a bright tongue of flame, followed by another charred piece of parchment. We all watched on in a terrifying silence as the Headmaster unfolded the piece of paper and stared at it for a few moments.

"Harry Potter," he called out. My heart began to race as I realised what had just happened. I watched in horror as Lily and James Potter's son trampled reluctantly up towards the staff table and exited into the side chamber. I tore my gaze away from the side door he had exited through, and locked eyes with Dumbledore. In his eyes I saw the same terror that was reflected deep down within me. I absolutely hated Hallowe'en.

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A/N: Please review guys! I'm dying to hear what you all think. It's my first fanfic, and I could really do with the feedback. Also apologies in advance for the timeline of this story jumping all over the place. Hopefully it's not too confusing and you all appreciate the suspense. xx


	4. Christmas Without the Tree

A/N: Over the years I have read so many incredible stories on this website and I thought it would be an experience to write my own version of what I would've liked to happen; – had J.K. Rowling's world ever crossed over with Stephanie Meyers'. I thank both these incredible women for the two worlds they gave me during my childhood and adolescence. Disclaimer: I do not own anything from their creations, besides the following plot. xx

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**Chapter Four – Christmas Without the Tree**

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**__****_25 December 1994_**

**_Jacob Black POV_**

As Dad and I made our way up to Charlie's front door on Christmas Day, we weren't entirely sure what to expect. These past three months had been a struggle for the Sheriff and Lily, dealing with Bella's mild depression. After the bloodsuckers left town in September, Bella had turned into a lifeless robot; waking up, going to school, working at the Newton's store, coming home and sleeping. I recalled some of the countless conversations between my dad and Charlie on the phone, in which the sheriff had complained and worried over his daughter's lack of interest in life. Bella's aunty; Lily along with Charlie had tried desperately to get her back on her feet. They encouraged her to socialise more, pick up a hobby or even begin her ballet classes again. Though nothing had seemed to work, she obviously just wasn't interested. At some point in November, Charlie had threatened to send Bella back to her mother's care in Phoenix to knock some vibrancy and inspiration into her. It had been Lily and Dad who convinced him otherwise, claiming she needed some time and space to get over the breakup. Dad then suggested she come out to La Push to spend time with me and some of the tribe boys. I'm not too sure what it was about being on the reservation that had helped her, but over the last few weeks this December, Bella seemed to come out of her shell. Dad said Charlie and Lily were thrilled that she was smiling more and actually getting out of bed happily most mornings. Spending time with Bella these last few weeks has made me smile a lot more too. As much as she hadn't been the most talkative or cheery company, being around her had made me feel good. Which is why I was thrilled when Lily and Charlie had invited us over for their Christmas feast.

As we approached the small house around midday, we could hear some confusion coming from inside the walls. I thought it may have just been my heightened hearing, picking up the buzz from within the house. So I looked over at Dad, but he could hear Lily's shouting as well. We both chuckled to ourselves feeling sorry for Charlie, knowing full well that she was the best thing in his life.

"He's lucky to have her," Billy remarked cheerfully.

"They both are," I added in agreement, thinking that Bella probably would've taken longer than three months to emerge from her cocoon had it not been for Lily. I jogged up the steps to the door happily and rang the door bell. Within seconds Bella had rushed to the door and yanked it open enthusiastically. The first thing I noticed was the short red dress that she was wearing.

"Hey Jake," she threw her arms around me merrily "Happy Christmas!" it took me a few seconds to pull myself together and return her hug. I liked the dress; that was for sure.

"You too Bells, Happy Christmas!" I smiled warmly, releasing her and turning around to wheel my dad into the house.

"Happy Christmas Billy," Bella bent over and kissed my dad on the cheek, before I pushed his wheelchair into the living room of their house. There were bright Christmas lights flashing all around the ceiling of the living room, and a vast pile of gifts stacked up in the corner. Lily had displayed all their Christmas cards around the room, as well as put out various festive ornaments and Christmas statues. The room looked rather incredible and quite welcoming too. It put a smile on my face the second we had walked in. I could hear soft Christmas carols playing somewhere in the background and could smell the strawberry, cherry and mint scented wax from all the candles burning around the room. Dad and I looked at each other, both impressed with the effort Lily had put in to the place. But we were also both thinking that our place had not looked that incredible since Rachel and Rebecca had left home. It was nice to see that some homes actually made the effort. It took me about thirty seconds to realise that they didn't have a tree anywhere in sight.

"Hey Bells, where's your…"

"Get out of here for the seventh time," we all glanced up to see Lily waving an empty frying pan in the air at Charlie's head, before catching sight of us, "Oh, hi Billy, Jacob!" she lowered her copper weapon and smiled embarrassedly.

"Hi Sheriff, Happy Christmas." I shook Charlie's hand, and then wished Lily on the cheek. I watched on as everyone else exchanged festive greetings and embraces, before we all sat down around the living room, leaving Lily to return to the kitchen to finish preparing the meal. The four of us began discussing some of the latest happenings out on our reservation with the tribe. Charlie, Lily and Bella weren't aware of our werewolf ancestry, but they knew La Push had its own tribe of Native American boys and that we took our community life very seriously. As we all began to laugh over some of the funnier moments from the year that had just gone by, I started watching Bella. I liked the way she smiled and laughed along with everyone; it seemed genuine too, which was a good sign for her. Charlie and Dad started telling us a story about one of their fishing trips, in which Harry Clearwater's fishing line had gotten hooked on the back of Charlie's t-shirt and he had danced around trying to get it off of himself. Bella cracked up laughing hysterically at her dad, and I could tell Charlie was pleased to see it. It really must have been a long time since he had actually seen her laugh like that. Within no time at all, Dad had struck up a conversation about the latest baseball scores. Bella and I glanced sideways at each other knowingly, and we promptly removed ourselves from the living room. We smiled and rolled our eyes at each other as we made our way to the staircase. I followed Bella up to her bedroom, trying desperately not to stare at her long legs as she walked in front of me.

"I got you a Christmas gift," she punched me lightly on the arm, tearing me away from my imaginative thoughts. I really had to stop fantasising about her, it was just Bella! I shook my head to myself and grinned back at her charmingly.

"Oh really; a new bike perhaps?" I teased her lightly

'"You wish, loser," she scoffed as we entered her room. It was the first time I had been invited in there, and I was rather surprised to find it completely covered in purple, mauves and lilacs. For the scruffy tom-boy that Bella was, I was expecting a less girly finish to her room. Either way I was glad she finally trusted me enough to allow me in there. Bella walked over to her bedside table and pulled out a small black leather pouch from the drawer.

"You really shouldn't have," I said sincerely as she handed the small pouch to me and sat down on her bed.

"I hope you like it," she replied. I smiled warmly at her and thanked her for the gift before sitting down on the bed next to her and opening the pouch. From inside, I pulled out a black braided leather bracelet, with a sun pendant tied in the centre of the knot. The leather bracelet itself was quite neat, and I knew the significance behind the sun pendant too.

"I love it Bells, thank you," I gazed fondly at her for a few seconds, before dropping a tender kiss on her cheek. Bella's cheeks quickly reddened and she smiled shyly. "That was very sweet of you," I added,

"I'm glad you like it," she said happily.

"Help me?" I handed the bracelet to Bella, and she tied it firmly around my wrist.

"How are Quil and Embry?" Bella enquired after two of my friends from the reservation and I happily filled her in on some of the funny stories they had been involved with. It was half an hour later that Lily interrupted our giggling and called us downstairs to set the table for the meal. Before leaving Bella's room, I slid my hand into hers but she moved her hand away within moments. I figured it was probably too early to be affectionate with her, even with my friendly intentions. I smiled easily at her, to reassure her that it was perfectly okay to not want to hold my hand and she smiled back easily. I wasn't even sure myself why I had reached out for her fingers in the first place.

"Everything okay Jake?" Lily asked me, as we stepped off the bottom of the staircase together.

"Sure," I replied breaking into another easy smile, as Bella too glanced up at me and frowned. I punched her lightly in the shoulder and made my way into the Sheriff's small kitchen to start bringing out some of Lily's aromatic dishes. Naturally my tummy rumbled loudly, triggering laughs from both Lily and Bella. I rolled my eyes and returned to the living room carrying two hot dishes in my hands. After another five minutes or so, I wheeled Dad over to the dining table and Charlie and the rest of us sat down to the delicious meal. Lily chatted about her job teaching at the local kindergarten, and told us stories of the young kids there and the silly things they would do in their naivety and innocence. Charlie then began telling us similar tales from when Bella was younger, which began a series of protests from Bella. Of course, Dad had to join in and include stories of myself.

"Billy don't go embarrassing the boy like that," Charlie stood up for me. Lily and Bella merely looked at each other as he had been doing the same thing to Bella seconds earlier.

"…he couldn't even talk properly, his mouth was so full of Sue's chocolate cake," Dad laughed and I rolled my eyes at Bella.

"That sounds like Bells, when she tucks into Lil's tiramisu,' Charlie added.

"Hey that stuff's good alright," Bella defended herself, before the conversation continued on. Dad asked Bella how her mother was doing in Phoenix and whether she was sad not spending Christmas with her. Bella had replied saying that her mother; Renee, was not exactly the most festive person and that the Christmas season was never a big thing for them. She then went on to say she was rather pleased to be celebrating with Lily and Charlie that year, as well as Dad and myself. She had looked up fondly at me when she had said that. I smiled happily to myself and helped myself to some more of Lily's seafood platter.

Later that afternoon, Bella and I were called downstairs into the living room again to exchange gifts with everyone. I was pretty excited that year, to receive gifts from Lily and Charlie too. Everyone likes presents, even us big kids! Charlie put on his Santa hat and sat down on the floor near the pile of stacked gifts.

"Hey Bells, how come you guys don't have a Christmas tree?" I asked curiously, remembering from earlier.

"I don't like trees," she announced casually and went about helping her dad sort through some of the gifts in the pile. Lily, Charlie and my dad all looked at each other and raised their eyebrows at Bella's light response. I was clearly missing something, but decided to just ask my dad about it later that evening. Everyone took a seat on one of the couches and waited patiently for Chief Swan to begin distributing the presents. Bella was the first to receive two gifts from Lily and Charlie and she eagerly opened them on the couch. Dad got handed a book on the history of baseball from Lily and then Lily received an elegant handbag from Charlie.

"Jake!" the sheriff called my name out and handed me a large wrapped box from the pile. I thanked him happily and ripped open the paper, to find a box of new hiking boots from Lily. I was thoroughly surprised because they were exactly what I had wanted, but I knew they were expensive too. I jumped off the couch and engulfed Bella's aunt in an affectionate hug.

"Thanks a bunch Lils," I kissed her on the cheek and she ruffled my hair happily. Before I knew it, Charlie had called my name again and I opened a small box with expensive cologne in it, from the sheriff. I went over and shook his hand and thanked him graciously. Within minutes I had also received new pyjamas, socks, an iPod and new speakers from Dad. I was absolutely thrilled. I glanced over at Bella and saw that she and Lily were happily chatting about some cosmetics Lily had bought for her. I heard Charlie call out her name, and he placed my gift for her, in her hands.

"It's from Jake," Charlie said casually and proceeded to give Lily her next gift. I pretended not to be paying any attention to Bella as she quickly glanced at me and opened my carefully wrapped package. From inside she pulled out the intricately designed 'dream catcher' with tiny stones around its edges. The next thing I knew, a tearful Bella had plummeted herself into my chest and all I could manage to do was hold her. I was glad she liked the gift, but it was rather awkward to have Charlie, Lily and Dad smiling fondly at the two of us, the way they were.

"Glad you like it Bells," I squeezed her affectionately and she hiccuped happily.

"I love it Jake," she smiled at me and at the same time we went to kiss each other on the cheek quickly. Sort of how you would wish your sister, I thought to myself. Charlie then caught my attention and asked me to help him lift a gift for my dad. Together we picked up the large heavy box and placed it on the floor in front of Dad. Delighted with the large present, he eagerly bent down to open it, chuckling to himself. Charlie announced that it was from Lily, Bella and himself. Dad burst out laughing when he saw what it was.

"You shouldn't have guys," he cried showing us all his new lawn mower; I moaned unhappily knowing I would be the one having to use it.

"No more excuses for overgrown lawn Jake," Dad raised his eyebrow at me and I made a mental note to strangle the Sheriff and Lily for their generosity.

"Yeah thanks guys," I went over and wished Lily and Charlie a second time for Dad.

"Bells this one is for you," Charlie handed her a small box, which was a gift from my dad apparently. I watched her open it curiously and was stunned when she pulled out an expensive silver bracelet from the velvet box.

"Oh wow Tink, that's beautiful," Lily and Bella gushed over the gorgeous piece as I locked eyes with my dad. I raised an eyebrow at him questioning why he had given Bella my mother's favourite bracelet. Dad smiled at me genuinely, and I knew he was trying to convey to me the fact that Bella had become just as special to the two of us as that bracelet had been, maybe even more. Charlie too had recognised the piece instantly and shook hands with Dad, a mere tear falling from his eye.

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A/N: Please please review guys, it would mean so much to me! It's my first fanfic, and I could really do with the feedback. Also apologies in advance for the timeline of this story jumping all over the place. Hopefully it's not too confusing and you all appreciate the suspense. xx


	5. A Promise, Is a Promise Lils

A/N: Over the years I have read so many incredible stories on this website and I thought it would be an experience to write my own version of what I would've liked to happen; – had J.K. Rowling's world ever crossed over with Stephanie Meyers'. I thank both these incredible women for the two worlds they gave me during my childhood and adolescence. Disclaimer: I do not own anything from their creations, besides the following plot. xx

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**Chapter Five – A Promise, Is a Promise Lils**

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**_25 December 1994_**

**_Lily Potter POV_**

For a kitchen as cramped as it was, I was thoroughly impressed that I had managed to cook a decent sized Christmas meal with the available utensils and appliances. I made a mental note to myself, that I would rethink purchasing Charlie, a new oven for his birthday in a few months; as the one currently in his kitchen had barely managed to cook my roast ham in time for lunch today. While washing up the dishes from this afternoon, I listened to the laughter in the house and smiled happily for the first time in a few weeks. Bella's distress and grief had been quite disheartening. Charlie too, had become overly moody and intolerant as of late, and it had taken its toll on me. Had it not been for Billy and Jacob, I wasn't sure how long the three of us would've kept it together. As much as I have my own apartment a few blocks away from Charlie's, I spend majority of my time under his roof anyway. So, seeing Bella and Jacob smiling and mucking around together today, had given me hope. It was a hope that we would all see better days to come; that we would all get the chance to breathe and live happily for a while, before the world we knew got tossed upside down.

Living with the knowledge and fear of what was in store for our future, was a feat I had mastered over the past fourteen years. It had been a challenge, learning to go about my daily life here in Forks, pretending that there wasn't darkness and suffering somewhere on the horizon. It was a burden I would never have imposed on anyone; not Charlie and not Bella. My world had been ripped away from me so abruptly; so painfully, before I had sought refuge in Forks. The most frightening thing was the fact that mine and Bella's world would spin terribly out of control, the second I was finally allowed to leave this town. Though, that would not be for a long time. I sighed calmly as I glanced outside Charlie's kitchen window. For now, Bella was not in any immediate danger; unless of course I counted the potential harm she posed to her own self. I shook my head at the teenager and just hoped with time, young Jacob could screw her head back on properly. Her years with Renee had obviously left her rather insecure and mentally unstable. Not that I had anything against my ex-sister-in-law at all. She had just lived a very different lifestyle; one in which Bella, had not necessarily come first, on her list of priorities. As I finished washing and rinsing all Charlie's plates, cutlery and dishes, I surveyed his kitchen, searching for any other work to cover for him. Rather satisfied with the tidy cooking space, a grabbed a tea towel and began drying off all the utensils I had just finished washing, so that he wouldn't have to do it in the morning. Once I had stored away everything from the dish-washing rack, I joined Charlie and Billy in the living room to discover them talking about one of their previous fishing trips together. Having no intention of reliving their memories with them, I decided to check on Jacob and Bella. Though, as I couldn't quite hear any chatting or laughing coming from upstairs, I wasn't entirely sure they would want me disturbing them. Instead I collected my keys from the mantelpiece in the living room and wished Charlie and Billy "goodnight" and "Happy Christmas" again. After turning down multiple requests from both men to stay longer, I asked Charlie to apologise to both Bella and Jacob for me and wish them a good night as well. I collected all the wonderful gifts I had received from everyone earlier that afternoon in a large plastic bag and carried them towards the front door. Charlie got up off his couch and gave me a rather long embrace and told me to be careful on my walk home. That kind of affection from my brother was rare, so I knew he was relatively intoxicated and certainly in a good mood too. He kissed me on the cheek and walked me out his front door; another rare occurrence. I waved goodbye to him as I proceeded down the short street and turned into the next block of houses.

The walk from Charlie's house to my apartment was one I knew like the back of my hand. I had always enjoyed the exercise and fresh air it provided me, as well as the chance to clear my head. Sometimes getting caught up in Charlie's mundane world left me feeling like I had lost perspective on my own world and problems. This last year however, getting caught up with the happenings in Bella's world, had usually left me feeling anxious and stressed, realising how immediate my own concerns were. Though that night, walking back to my apartment I was feeling light hearted and happy. Humming a Christmas tune to myself, I began thinking of some of my fonder memories with my late husband; James. I thought of all the times James would play with my fingers and whisper secrets in my ear, or chase me down corridors and tickle me. Those were the little things that would always pop into my mind. Yet it was the more significant things that I truly missed; like confiding my fears in him, and actually feeling safe and sure of the world, while I was with him. I missed my life with him; I missed how happy we had been with each other. Our first Christmas together while we were married, had been with our five month old son; Harry. I had missed James every day since his death fourteen years ago. Though more than anything, I missed Harry – who had been separated from me the same night James had been killed. These past fourteen years, he had grown up under my sister; Petunia's roof. Charlie had not spoken to Petunia in over thirty years, since he had left our family home in London at the age of eleven and moved to Washington. Petunia herself, had stopped speaking with me fifteen years ago, after I had married James. The year later, James was murdered and Petunia was told I was killed also. I had been required to go into hiding after that, and so my elder sister was left to raise my son, with the belief that I was actually dead. There were only a handful of people from my life before Forks, who actually knew I was alive; not including Harry. I longed for the day that I could be reunited with my son. But above anything, I just wanted him to know I was alive, and that I had loved and missed him every day we had been apart. How did you tell that to a fourteen year old boy, who had grown up without parents?

By the time I turned onto my street of the block, I had started to shiver in the night air. Living as close as I did to Charlie's house these last few years, I often forgot to carry a coat or jacket with me when I left my own apartment. I fumbled for my keys numbly and shoved the correct one into my apartment door. Turning the handle and pushing the door forward, I found all the lights switched on inside my home. I racked my brain, trying to remember if I had left them on that morning before leaving for Charlie's. I began to panic, realising I had definitely turned them off before locking my apartment door. I took a few deep breaths before nervously stepping forward into my living room, to catch sight of Remus jumping off my couch quickly.

"Lils," he sprinted over to me enthusiastically.

"You came!" I cried emotionally, as I placed my bag of gifts on the floor and threw my arms around him happily.

"A promise, is a promise Lils," he kissed my forehead happily as we stood there holding each other for quite possibly five minutes, both of us tearing up and not letting go of the other.

Remus Lupin had been one of my husband's best friends during our time in high school together. The three of us had all been in the same year and had had most of our classes together as well. During our first few years of schooling, James and I had not particularly been friends; though Remus and I had been relatively friendly. He had been my most consistent friend and confidant from the very first day of school. However his loyalty to James, and their two other friends; Sirius and Peter had kept Remus and I from bonding any more than we did. By the time James and I had started dating in our later school years, I had become close with the other two boys, and had been able to spend more time with Remus too. Losing James had been quite hard for the both of us, and over the past fourteen years we had bonded further over the loss. Hiding out here in Forks had been torture for me, not having contact with anyone from my previous life; apart from Remus. He had promised me the day I had come out here in hiding, that he would never lose contact with me, if it cost him his life. Christmas that year had been the most painful day of my life; not even two months after losing James and Harry at the end of that October. Remus had spent the whole day down in Forks with me. We had helped each other keep our minds off the pain, by talking about absolute nonsense and drowning our livers with bottle after bottle of alcohol. That first Christmas together, Remus made a promise to me, that he would come and spend every Christmas night with me from that year on, and he had never broken that promise. Funnily enough, we had not broken the alcoholic tradition either. What had been broken, year after year – was our record of whiskey bottles consumed on Christmas night.

"Happy Christmas Rem," I pulled away from the man reluctantly. I hadn't seen him in over half a year and it felt good to be with him again.

"Happy Christmas Lils," he smiled happily and backed away to look at me. I chuckled lightly and walked back to my front door to lock it for the rest of the night. I picked up my bag of gifts lying on the floor and carried them over to my island bench top in the kitchen.

"You weren't waiting long were you?" I asked him as he followed me towards the middle section of my apartment. He shook his head smiling at me.

"You've had your kitchen redone since I was last here," Remus remarked, "and the entire floor upstairs," he added and we laughed lightly. He had obviously been waiting for me for a few hours, and had had a lie down in one of the rooms upstairs.

"What do you think?" I smiled lightly, asking for his opinion.

"It's different," he nodded in approval, "is it normal for Muggles?"

"It's modern and stylish," I nodded, my eyes twinkling, "yes, very normal indeed."

"As long as you like it then," Remus laughed with me and pulled out his wand from his back pocket. "I'm cooking tonight," he added. I stood there marvelling as he pointed his wand at my large stainless steel fridge and various objects and ingredients began flying out and landing neatly on my bench top. I had not been allowed to practice magic since the night James died. Growing up in a non-magical home, I had learnt how to cook, clean and maintain a household manually. Adjusting to life without magic had been easy after James' death; however I did feel jealous when magic was performed in front of me. It also captivated me as well; I stood there gaping at the incredibility of it all. Remus pointed his wand at my cupboards, as pots and pans began to fly out as well. Ingredients were magically pouring themselves into measuring cups and then tipping into dishes which were already simmering over my stove.

"You're enjoying this aren't you?" I scoffed at Remus, realising he was only doing it to entertain me.

"That look on your face; it's priceless," he pointed out happily. I shook my head defiantly and walked away from the bench top to prove a point.

"I'm going upstairs to change," I snapped at him playfully.

"Oh, don't bother," he smirked and pointed his wand at me. The next thing I knew, the black and red halter dress I was wearing had turned into a pair of trackies and a t-shirt and the strappy heels I had worn to Christmas lunch at Charlie's, had become my fluffy bedroom slippers. Remus was obviously not going to let me win this evening.

"Are you done?" I crossed my arms over my chest stubbornly and raised my eyebrow at him.

"Nope," he chuckled and pointed his wand at my head. My long red hair fell out of the messy up-do I had it in, "much better," he added and turned back to my stove. I shook my head at my old friend and walked over to my fridge, removing a bottle of my favourite red wine. I reached up into one of the higher cupboards in my kitchen, stretching on my tiptoes to reach two wine glasses from inside. I was a fraction too short; I usually just grabbed a chair or stool to climb up on, to reach them.

"Oi, show-off! Make yourself useful," I called out to Remus, and indicated to the cupboard above me.

"Please?" he raised his eyebrow.

"Please!" I rolled my eyes and he levitated the two wine glasses from the shelf above me and placed them gently on the counter in front of me. He also took the liberty of magically opening the wine bottle I had in my hand and swiftly pouring some into the two glasses for us. I picked up the two glasses and gave one to him.

"Cheers!" we both said at the same time and clinked our glasses together, "Happy Christmas," I added and he mimicked me. I pulled up one of my new bar stools and sat down at my bench top, while Remus continued to stir some dish on the stove. Watching him cook in my kitchen was rather amusing. People assumed cooking was so easy with magic, but in actual fact it was no easier than cooking without it. You still had to have a good idea of what you were doing in the kitchen; you had to know exact measurements, processes and which ingredients to mix with others. I smiled fondly at the man in front of me, and wondered why on earth he wasn't married to some gorgeous witch from the Wizarding world. He was charming, smart, handsome and an excellent cook too. Knowing Remus, it was probably because he thought he didn't deserve anyone or more specifically because of his werewolf condition. The fact that he turned into a werewolf at the full moon every month, had never worried me. It had never worried James, Sirius or Peter either. The three friends had embraced his condition happily and helped him through it every month by turning into their animagus forms. I hoped one day Remus would find happiness with a special woman, because he was one man, who deserved that kind of love and affection.

"So how are Charlie and Bella doing?" Remus enquired casually, as he continued to stir a pot of pasta on my stove. I wasn't sure where to begin with those two, nor did I have the energy to explain the last few months to him. "Is she still dating the vampire?"

"No," I sighed, figuring it was probably healthy for me to confide in him, just as I always had. "He left her heartbroken at the end of September. She's struggled through some sort of depression since then and she's only started coming out of her shell these past couple of weeks," I stated unemotionally. Remus stopped stirring the pasta and walked over to my side of the bench top.

"How are you and Charlie coping?" he stood in front of me, looking at me with so much concern.

"It really got to Charlie; he had no idea how to handle himself around her or how to make her feel better. For me it wasn't so bad," I smiled, "I was just glad had hadn't tried to convert her."

"Change her into a vampire?" Remus raised his eyebrow and I nodded my head.

"I'm sure eventually he and his family would have wanted to change her, so she could be part of their coven. Knowing Bella, it probably already crossed her mind."

"Does she know you're aware of them yet?" I shook my head looking at the floor between Remus and myself.

"How can I explain it to her? The only reason I found out about them was because I'm a witch; I could sense the magic inside them," I said miserably.

"Has Charlie got any idea yet?" he asked me, trying to piece the puzzle together and I shook my head again.

"Charlie would hit the roof if he knew what they were. Finding out that I was a witch was enough for him; he's had to keep that secret all his life. I mean, he left home at the age of eleven because of it. But no, he has no idea; not even a suspicion of the vampires' true nature. Nor does he have any idea about the native wolf tribe living under his nose."

"You mean his friend's wolf pack?" Remus pulled out the bar stool next to me and sat down, never taking his eyes off my face and I nodded again.

"Billy Black," I smiled. "It's not actually his pack; I think the wolf gene in him has remained dormant all his life. But I know just recently, his son Jacob phased for the first time; I could sense the magic around him. He and Bella have become quite close these last few weeks," I shook my head. "Actually, if it hadn't been for Jake, I'm not sure how long Bella would've remained depressed."

"She's gone from the vampire to a werewolf?" Remus chuckled, "she sounds like a handful Lils," he reached over and squeezed my hand on the bench top.

"Charlie still thinks she's a little angel of some sort," we both laughed lightly and Remus returned to my stove to finish up the pasta.

"So Bella doesn't know you're aware of any of this?" he asked me to clarify.

"No, actually I don't think Bella is even aware of the wolf tribe yet. Jake may have not felt ready to confide in her, as it's only just happened to him." Remus smiled at me and began pulling out bowls and cutlery for his pasta. I jumped off the bar stool and quickly cleared my dining table in the other lounge room, laying out place-mats and serviettes for us. Remus had prepared a salad dish, garlic bread and a large dish of spaghetti marinara for us. Together we carried everything over to my dining table, along with the bottle of wine. I couldn't help but smile at Remus every few minutes across the table as we began to eat the meal; I was really quite pleased to be back in his company. It amazed me how much I missed him when he was away, and how easy it felt to be with him when he returned. We chatted easily about my teaching job at the small kindergarten in Forks. I told him the same funny stories, I had told everyone at lunch earlier today. I had been working there for the entire fourteen years I had been here in hiding, so Remus knew from his previous visits that I loved the little kids in the kinder. He used to tease me, and say that one day I would kidnap one of them because I had always found them so charming and adorable. At times working in the kindergarten made me anxious and sad, because I had been so young giving birth to Harry and then not having the chance to raise him, it was unsettling. I had sometimes wished I could have more kids, and Remus knew this. We had had a number of conversations over the years, about my future and the opportunity I had to remarry and have another child or two. But I had always dismissed it, claiming that I had no intention of bringing another child into this world, when the one I already had, had such a distressing future ahead of him. After filling Remus in on the kindergarten, there was a mutual silence between us across the table. We both knew the next topic we were going to discuss, but we also both knew I didn't want to ask it or hear it. Instead I decided to skate over it and avoid it for a little while.

"How's Sirius doing?" I asked about our other old friend, smiling brightly at Remus while pouring us both another glass of the wine. Remus paused for about a minute or so, watching me with the wine bottle; I knew straight away he was going to bring up the topic I didn't want to discuss just yet.

"He's healthy and enjoying the new freedom; but he's worried about Harry…" I took a deep breath.

"And why would he be worried about Harry?" I asked Remus in a whisper. It had been six months since I had heard any news of my son. The last time Remus had visited me in Forks was in the summer after Harry's third year at Hogwarts. Remus himself had been offered a teaching position at the school as the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor during that year. He had had the opportunity to bond with my son, as his teacher, a new role model and a friend. That year the school had been heavily guarded by Dementors, and Harry seemed to have been a walking magnet for them. Using the chance to spend more time with him, upon my request, Remus had successfully taught Harry to produce a Patronus Charm, to defend himself against the Dementors. The reason the school had been surrounded by those vile creatures, was because our old friend Sirius had broken out of the Wizarding prison at the beginning of that school year. The entire Wizarding World believed that Sirius Black was out to murder Harry. Of course, Remus, I and the Hogwarts Headmaster; Professor Dumbledore knew otherwise. Though purely for appearances sake, Dumbledore had agreed with the Ministry of Magic, to allow the Dementors to secure the school until Sirius was caught and Harry was deemed safe again. After Remus' interference, Harry eventually met his Godfather; Sirius and was informed that the older man was not out to murder him. That year, Harry had gained friendships with two of his father's best mates; it was more than I could ask for. However at the end of that school year, Remus' werewolf condition had been leaked out to the school and Wizarding community and he was forced to resign from his teaching position at Hogwarts. Remus studied my face for a good two minutes solid. It made me so nervous about the kind of news he had to share with me. I know he didn't mean to keep me in such suspense but it didn't make it any easier either.

"This school year, Hogwarts was chosen to host the Triwizard Tournament on their grounds. Harry's name was pulled out of the Goblet of Fire Lils; he's a competitor for Hogwarts…"

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A/N: Please review guys! I'm dying to hear what you all think. It's my first fanfic, and I could really do with the feedback. Also apologies in advance for the timeline of this story jumping all over the place. Hopefully it's not too confusing and you all appreciate the suspense. xx


	6. Another Record Broken

A/N: Over the years I have read so many incredible stories on this website and I thought it would be an experience to write my own version of what I would've liked to happen; – had J.K. Rowling's world ever crossed over with Stephanie Meyers'. I thank both these incredible women for the two worlds they gave me during my childhood and adolescence. Disclaimer: I do not own anything from their creations, besides the following plot. xx

* * *

**Chapter Six – Another Record Broken**

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**_25 December 1994_**

**_Remus Lupin POV_**

Her face paled the moment I told her about the Tournament; it was to be expected. She slowly lowered the wine glass she was holding to the table in front of her, not watching what she was doing. Lily hadn't removed her eyes from my face and her glass tipped over, spilling brilliantly onto her white satin tablecloth. Neither of us dropped the other's gaze to look at the mess or even attempt to clean it up. We sat there staring at each other for what seemed like forever. I wasn't even sure if she was breathing anymore. She hadn't blinked in two minutes either. I got up from my chair and walked over to her side of the table, kneeling down before her and grasping both her hands in mine.

"He's going to be alright Lily, he's made it through the First Task already," I tried to reassure her as she sat there staring down at my face, barely comprehending what I was saying.

"Kids die in that Tournament," Lily took her first breath in a few minutes, and started gasping desperately for air.

"Lils, breathe; come on take another deep breath," I soothed her calmly as she began hyperventilating and tearing up. I stood up and rubbed her back as she leant her forehead against my chest trying to recompose herself. I knew that this was going to happen when I got around to telling her. Harry had a flare for trouble; he hadn't had a quiet year at Hogwarts since he started there. I felt so terrible for Lily; it would be torture for any mother, not being able to protect their child from certain dangers.

"He's under age Rem, how is this even possible?" she finally brought her breathing back to an even rate and I sat down on the dining chair next to her.

"Sirius, Dumbledore and I aren't sure actually. The Goblet was charmed to spit out four names this year; there are two Hogwarts competitors; Harry and another boy named Diggory. We think the Goblet was tricked into accepting his name in the first place," I offered gently and Lily stared back at me with the most horrific expression on her face.

"How could he be so stupid to put his name in there anyway; how did he even come up with a charm to trick the Goblet?" Lily cried miserably.

"He's claiming it wasn't him Lils and we really don't think it was either," I sighed, knowing it was going to be a long night.

"He was set up?" she stared back at me with wide eyes.

"We don't know if someone enchanted his name and threw it in there for fun, or if someone wants him in the competition for a reason," I responded calmly, not feeling the least bit calm. I was terrified for Harry; we all were, Dumbledore more than anyone.

"Given that whoever it was has gone through the effort of charming the Goblet of Fire to spit out four names Remus, I think we can assume someone wants my son in that Tournament," she glanced up at me miserably.

"Albus said the same thing," I nodded at her. "Look, Dumbledore's got Moody keeping an eye on Harry for now…"

"Moody?' Lily sat up straight.

"Oh sorry, yes. Mad-Eye was given my position of Defence Professor for this year. He's keeping a close eye on Harry for us. I actually think he's giving Harry clues and advice too," I stated sheepishly.

"He's helping Harry cheat?" Lily smirked happily; she had always liked Alastor, "Well whatever it takes to keep him alive." She got up from her chair and began clearing the plates from the table. I shook my head at her perseverance and pulled out my wand. Everything that had been on the dining table rose up into the air above both our heads and flew straight into the kitchen. I removed the wine stain from her satin table cloth and we both made our way back into Lily's living room. After swiftly clearing up the kitchen, Lily smiled at me for the first time in ten minutes before bringing up some funny stories about Charlie.

"Lils, you're okay with all this?" I asked, surprised by her quick recovery from the news of the Tournament.

"No of course I'm not!" she snapped unhappily rounding on me. "But it's not like I can bloody well do anything about it can I? I'm stuck here in this little corner of the world with no say about what goes on in my son's life! "

"I'm sorry Lils...I didn't mean to..." I reached out to grab hold of her, but she walked away from me miserably. I stood and watched her cry over her kitchen sink for five minutes before walking over and wrapping my arms around her. Lily abandoned her anger towards me and sobbed for a while longer. I cursed Dumbledore in my head; hating him for putting us all in the position we were in. At the same time, I couldn't hate him for saving her life...

"They had the Yule Ball this evening," I remarked, trying to cheer her up as her sobbing slowed down. Lily lifted her head from my shoulders and looked up at me with watery eyes quite hopefully.

"Who did Harry take?" she enquired curiously. I raised my eyebrow at my friend and shook my head; Lily laughed knowing full well I had no interest in the superficial love lives of teenagers. "What about that girl he's always with? Hermione isn't it?" she wiped her eyes and untangled herself from my arms.

"Lils, I told you last year; they're just friends!" I scoffed at her and she went back to pottering around her kitchen to distract herself from the new knowledge of the Tournament.

"It's a shame, the girl sounds rather bright; she would be a good influence on him," I rolled my eyes at her thoughts. I knew the dynamics of the close friendship between Harry and Hermione, and their best mate Ron, as I had had them in my classes the previous year. I was rather sure, if anything, Hermione and Ron were actually interested in each other, but they may have been too young to act on it.

"I'm fairly sure she is already a significant influence on him," I remarked, remembering my dealings with the trio from Hogwarts. "Hermione does a lot of his homework for him," I added smiling, "Sort of how you wrote all James and Sirius' papers for them."

"Those two needed all the help they could get," Lily smiled back at me, picking up the wine bottle and two glasses and walking over to the couch in her living room. I followed her happily, relieved by her sudden change of mood.

"You never offered to help Peter or me during school," I teased, taking the bottle from her hand and pouring us some more wine.

"Peter was already a lost cause, and you were too smart to need my help Rem," she chuckled lightly. I was glad to hear her laugh, I had been worried she was still stressing over the news of the Tournament.

"You thought I was smart?" I was surprised to hear she that.

"Rem, you were smarter than me during school. You just wasted all your time with those three. I'm positive your grades could have exceeded mine had you straightened out your priorities." I was stunned by her response. I knew I had done well in my schooling, but to hear Lily say she thought I was cleverer than her, well, it was news to me.

"Cheers to that," I chuckled, clinking glasses with her again. We spent the following few hours of the night talking about various topics from over the years. We rambled on about Quidditch scores and teams and then moved on to Hogwarts Professors and terrible Prefects and Head Students. Lily talked about the difference in the weather between Forks and London and I enquired after Charlie's love life and job. Before we had consumed two bottles of wine between us, I conjured up Lily's Christmas gifts into my lap and she too jumped off the couch to find mine. After rummaging upstairs for a good five minutes she came trampling back down to the couch carrying a few wrapped items. I started off by giving her the most expensive gift. She kissed me on the cheek gratefully, and began to happily unwrap the designer Muggle watch I had bought her. On the inside of the gold wrist band I had magically engraved the words '_Yours is the friendship of a lifetime's bliss. With love always, Remus.'_ She absolutely loved it and I was thrilled. It pleased me to see her tear up after reading the engraving too, and I knew I would see it on her wrist every day from then on. She then handed me a rather large wrapped box. I opened it eagerly, wondering what could have possibly been of that size. Unexpectedly, I found an expensive telescope and tripod set.

"Oh Lils, you didn't!" I embraced her fondly, amazed that she had even bought the contraption for me. We had had a conversation a year earlier about the monthly cycles of the moon and certain stars. I had expressed an interest in astronomy but complained that I wouldn't have the time with my new teaching job at Hogwarts.

"Now you even have the time to use it," she smiled happily at me. Our gift exchange continued on for another fifteen minutes; I received an elaborate quill with a rare black and royal blue feather, a large bottle of Knotgrass Mead, a box of Muggle chocolates, as well as a set of new dark purple and black dress robes. Lily's gifts were always so thoughtful and practical; she knew I would use each of them.

For her, I had organised an album of photos of Harry and his friends, along with an assortment of wizarding treats from Honeydukes Sweetshop. I had also bought her an expensive Muggle perfume that smelt like orchids and lilies, an antique glass wizarding chess set and the latest edition of The Standard Book of Spells. Lily laughed happily at her final gift, claiming that she had certainly needed it as she had forgotten all her basic charms and spells after not practicing for the past fourteen years. I was a little doubtful when I had bought it, because I didn't think Lily would make use of it any time soon; as she was likely to stay in hiding for another few years at least. But knowing Lily, she would dive happily into the extensive reading and refresh her mind when she had nothing better to do.

Every year on Christmas night, Lily and I had spoilt each other with gifts and tokens of appreciation for the previous year that had passed. As we barely saw much of each other over the twelve month cycle, we never managed to spend birthdays together either. The expensive gifts we treated each other to, usually covered birthdays, Christmas and the overall appreciation of each other's friendship. Neither of us really had anyone else to spoil in our lives, other than Bella and Charlie, and Sirius and Harry for myself.

Feeling like we were about to settle in for a good night together, I conjured up my old gramophone and began playing some old songs that Lily and I knew well by Celestina Warbeck. My old friend began laughing immediately as the music came on and we opened up our first bottle of whiskey for the evening. Pouring ourselves two tumblers of the fine liquid, we swallowed three glasses each. I then took hold of Lily's hand and dragged her into the centre of her living room where we began to sway and dance pathetically to the songs. Within another fifteen minutes time, I could feel the alcohol going to my head. Lily's giggling had gradually become louder as well. Not entirely sure how noisy we were being, I pulled out my wand and muttered a silencing charm around Lily's apartment. I pulled her closer into my chest and we continued to move around like a pair of merry and hazy fools. After the disc of songs finished on the gramophone I conjured up another slower paced set of music from our schooling years. We held onto each other tightly and swayed for the first few tracks, before we retreated to the couch with our second bottle of whiskey.

"So, how does it feel – to be – thirty five, this year?" she slurred and we both giggled.

"Honestly, the same way it felt – to be thirty four," I chuckled back and we laughed about nothing in particular.

"I will second that!" she hiccupped and we clinked our whiskey glasses together.

"We're – getting old Lils," I chuckled stupidly and she placed her hand on my cheek casually.

"Well – you don't look it," we giggled together.

"Why thank you – my dear," I got up to fetch another bottle of whiskey for us but stumbled all the way to Lily's fridge. I could hear her laughing hysterically from the couch behind me. The next thing I knew she was by my side and some how we both managed to open the fridge, retrieve the next bottle of whiskey and drag each other back to the couch without falling over or smashing the bottle we carried. I poured us both some more alcohol into the tumblers and we toasted something else, clinking our glasses together.

"Sirius – is such a dog sometimes," I commented and we both giggled for a while.

"What did he – do to you – now Rem?" Lily asked still amused.

"He drank all my mead," I answered her angrily.

"Aww," Lily chuckled, mocking me and then ruffling my hair before turning serious. "Why – would Pete – sell us out – like that?" It was a question Lily had asked year after year on Christmas night. Peter's betrayal had really shaken her; fourteen years on, she was yet to get over the pain. Though in all fairness, Sirius hadn't gotten over Peter's betrayal either; though his feelings towards our old friend were more along the lines of anger and hatred.

"Cause he's an absolute ass!" I slurred unhappily to Lily.

"I hate him," Lily thought hard.

"I do too," I hiccuped a few times. We sat in silence for a good ten minutes, thinking over everything that had happened with Peter's betrayal and James' death. It had been the hardest thing either of us had gone through.

"I don't – hate him Rem," she added.

"Me neither," I placed my arms around her and we cuddled on the couch.

"Why haven't – you – kissed me yet, Rem?" she giggled like a school girl.

"Cause, I like you too much Lils," I stuttered back happily.

"I think," she paused unsurely, "that I like that answer," she smiled back at me.

"Good," we laughed together and poured ourselves another glass of whiskey. Sometime later in the night Lily asked me about the women in my life and I told her I didn't have any. Naturally she didn't believe me; she had always seen right through me. So I told her about my new friendship with Nymphadora Tonks; a youngish witch from the Ministry. Lily was pleased I had found someone and wished me the best with Tonks. That made me laugh and I told Lily she was an absolute clown.

"And I – absolutely – agree with you," she giggled ridiculously and picked up another full tumbler of whiskey.

Trying to remember where I was the next morning was not that difficult. Somewhere between the drinking, dancing, and chatting – Lily and I had fallen asleep on her couch together. I glanced down to see my old friend sleeping soundly against my chest. That had generally been how Christmas night had ended the past few years anyway. Moving my head gently, so I wouldn't wake her, I looked around Lily's living room and chuckled to myself. There were feathers from her cushions absolutely everywhere; a smashed bottle of whiskey all over her tiled floor and my gramophone had been turned on its side haphazardly. What had we managed to get up to last night? I checked the clock on Lily's kitchen wall and was pleased to see it was just before nine in the morning. I closed my eyes smiling and draped an arm around Lily's waist. I drifted off back to sleep for a while before Lily woke me with the smell of eggs and bacon. She was brilliant; there was no doubt about that. I pulled out my pocket watch to check the time and sat bolt up right. It was just after three in the afternoon.

"You look as bad as I feel," she yawned sleepily, as she started plating the eggs and bacon.

"It couldn't really be after three?" I ruffled my hand through my hair.

"Go take a shower upstairs," she suggested as I caught another look of her living room. It was worse than I thought I'd seen earlier that morning. I walked groggily upstairs to her ensuite and had a three minute shower before dressing myself and heading back downstairs again.

"Thanks," I replied as Lily handed me a plate of hot greasy food. Before I took my first mouthful I figured it was probably wise to cast a hangover cure on both of us. I looked around the room for my wand and saw it lying under the couch that we had fallen asleep on. I got up off my bar stool and went to retrieve it slowly. I wasn't sure about Lily, but my head was extremely heavy. I pointed the wand at her first and within seconds she began to stand up straight. Casting the charm on myself, I instantly felt better and happily finished my plate of food within minutes. We both went and sat back down on the couch with glasses of water in our hands.

"Thanks for the watch Remus," Lily began slowly.

"Lils, don't mention it honestly," I smiled at her genuinely.

"Do you want a chocolate frog?" she asked me tiredly and I nodded as she reached over to the assorted hamper of lollies I had given her the previous night. We both opened a packet each and watched our frogs jump out of the cardboard quickly. By the time they made it halfway across Lily's living room floor they had completely lost their jumping capabilities.

"Accio frogs," I summoned them back to me as we chuckled.

"Mine won," Lily teased, pleased that her frog had made it further across the floor than mine had. "Ew Rem, don't eat it; he's been on the floor." I shrugged my shoulders and took a bite of Lily's frog as well.

"Did we break our record last night?" I asked her curiously, not remembering how many bottles of whiskey we had consumed.

"Three and a half," Lily nodded smiling. We broke the previous Christmas' record by half a bottle. That was amusing; my head had felt much worse than three bottles worth of whiskey.

"I think age is slowing us down Lils," we both chuckled in agreement. Happily, we sat in a mutual silence for a few minutes before Lily turned to face me seriously.

"So, I think it's time you tell me what you were keeping from me last night," she stated calmly and for the first time in a few days, I wasn't worried about her reaction. It always amazed me how well Lily knew me. The fact that we could have as much fun as we did the previous night, but for her to still know something was eating away at me, really cemented the kind of friendship we had shared over the years. I ran my hand through my hair quickly before, I shifted on the couch so my body was facing her completely.

"Dumbledore told Sirius and I just recently, that Snape's Dark Mark has gradually started to burn again. Snape had a brief conversation with Igor Karkaroff too, and confirmed with Albus that his Dark Mark has begun to burn also." Lily paled quicker than she had the previous night when I told her about the Tournament. Maybe I shouldn't have been so quick to confide in her.

"It could be nothing right?" she asked desperately. "I mean, surely those tattoo things play up all the time?"

"I hope it really is nothing Lils," I responded evenly, trying to reassure her. Yet, we both knew it was unlikely; the Dark Mark's on the arms of all the Death Eaters were laced with dark magic. It was unlikely that they would play up.

"This can't be a coincidence with Harry being thrown into the Tournament," she panicked.

"No Lily, I doubt it has any correlation at all," I answered her speculation as steadily as I could.

"This is happening sooner than I thought it would Rem," I closed my eyes realising she was probably right.

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A/N: **Please review guys!** I'm dying to hear what you all think. It's my first fanfic, and I could really do with the feedback. Also apologies in advance for the timeline of this story jumping all over the place. Hopefully it's not too confusing and you all appreciate the suspense. xx


	7. Two Can Keep a Secret

A/N: Over the years I have read so many incredible stories on this website and I thought it would be an experience to write my own version of what I would've liked to happen; – had J.K. Rowling's world ever crossed over with Stephanie Meyers'. I thank both these incredible women for the two worlds they gave me during my childhood and adolescence. Disclaimer: I do not own anything from their creations, besides the following plot. xx

* * *

**Chapter Seven – Two Can Keep a Secret**

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**_14 March 1995_**

**_Isabella Swan POV_**

Whenever Jacob and I hung out together, there were usually long periods of mutual silence between us. It had never bothered me before, or made me anxious. This afternoon however, he had kept me waiting for his response for over ten frustrating minutes. When he had finally confided in me about the tribe's werewolf secret a few weeks ago, I had burst out immediately, voicing how I felt. I just assumed he would pay me the same courtesy and not allow me to sit here in this nervous agony. I turned my head away from him and gazed out over the La Push cliff top that we were sitting on. This place had become one of our special hideouts over the past few months. Jake brought me here a few weeks ago to tell me about the werewolf pack and the tribe's history. I had been so terrified when he had phased right in front of me for the first time that I jumped off the cliff into the water below. Unable to swim very well, I had thrashed around in the strong waves for what seemed like hours. Luckily for me, Jacob had dived in straight after me and resuscitated me on the shore.

"Well I'm certainly not going to jump off this cliff, if that's what you're expecting me to do…" Jake grinned next to me, finally breaking the silence. I punched him lightly on the arm and he threw his arm protectively around my shoulders while we sat there. "You should've told me earlier Bells."

"YOU JUST MADE ME WAIT TEN MINUTES!" I shrugged away from his arm and hit him a few times on the shoulders. Jacob grabbed both my hands in an attempt to subdue me, but I managed to break free of his grip and assault him further.

"Alright, alright; relax Bells," he laughed easily but quickly composed himself, setting a serious expression across his face. "These dreams you've had…what do you think they mean?"

It had been exactly six months since Edward and his family had left Forks last year. I had spent the first three months longing after him; imagining their spontaneous return, in which Edward would come and tell me he had never stopped wanting me. But after a while, reality kicked in and I realised there were no vampires returning to Forks, Washington – or even the United States for that matter. This miserable, rainy town was still my home and it would only ever be what I made of it. So I spent another forty-eight hours crying out every remaining depressing tear I had in my body and then I woke up. I woke up from my three months of self pity and agony. It was time to start fresh; to do something with my life. My wake up call had been just in time for Christmas and New Years as well. Realising that I needed new friendships in my life, to keep things entertaining in Forks; I sought out the company of Jacob and some of his friends from La Push. Along with the company of Angela, Jessica, Mike and Eric from school, my friendship circles were healthy again and Charlie and Aunt Lily seemed pleased.

However just after Christmas time, I had started having disturbing nightmares. It was never the same dream, but always with similar content. I had dreamt of myself setting objects on fire with my bare hands; of making objects fly and transform into completely new objects. These dreams consisted of weird explosions in mid air, awful clothing, strange creatures I had never seen; big and small and they consisted of bizarre wooden sticks everyone carried around with them. For a few weeks I thought my imagination was just playing games with me, trying to keep me entertained and distracted from Edward's absence. Though as the months past on, I realised something was wrong about these visions that my subconscious was showing me in my sleep. I had kept these dreams and visions to myself for as long as I could, until last night I had dreamt of something I could not comprehend. I had seen my Aunt Lily holding one of those wooden sticks; standing alongside people she seemed friendly with torturing a man in a black cape. So, I finally decided to confide in Jacob.

"I honestly don't know Jake; it could just be my imagination or it could be something more…" I answered his question unsurely.

"You don't really think magic or sorcery is real do you?" he asked me sceptically.

"I didn't think vampires and werewolves were real…" I implied sarcastically and he rolled his eyes at me.

"Well even then; you don't think your Aunt Lily is capable of hurting or killing anyone right? I mean she's the nicest and sweetest person I know!" Jacob protested.

"I don't know Jake, I mean if this magic is real and my aunt has lied about it all this time… then maybe I don't know her that well at all. Maybe she could be capable of harming someone…"

"You do realise how ridiculous you sound?" he raised an eyebrow at me. "Besides, forget about Lily for now. Think about all the dreams you had prior to last night's dream…"

Jacob was right; regardless of the dream I had had about my aunt, I had been having dreams about myself using magic as well. I needed to rethink my concerns here; maybe I should be worried about my own sanity. There was a chance that I was actually losing my mind. Maybe my subconscious was playing games with me, or acting up because I was missing Edward too much. I stopped and considered how much I had wanted to be part of the Cullen family; to live eternally with them in their world. It wasn't quite so far fetched, to think that my mind had created this dark magical world in my dreams that my aunt was a part of, for some reason.

"Besides, maybe that guy she was torturing was actually a bad guy? You know, like how the pack kills vampires?" Jacob suggested helpfully. I had not really gotten used to the idea of Jacob and his friends ripping off the heads of vampires. Every time he brought it up, or it came to mind, I imagined Jacob pulling Edward to pieces. I cringed quickly at the thought. "Oh, sorry…" he apologised, noticing my reaction.

"No, it's not you…" I looked away from Jacob unhappily. "I think I'm losing my mind Jake."

"I don't think you are Bells; maybe you should just go ask Lily?" I glanced over at Jacob incredulously.

"I'm sure that'll go well," we both laughed imagining my conversation with my aunt about the nightmares I was having. "Keep my secret?"

"Well, you are keeping mine," he replied and nudged me lightly on the arm. I looked up at his face and there was a deep intensity in his gaze. I felt my stomach summersault and my brain freeze up for a few seconds. This was Jacob, there was no chance he could be flirting with me. I had to stop imagining that he was; because I was still hung up on Edward. I tore my eyes away from his and admired the beautiful sunset in front of me. This cliff top really was something special. We sat there quietly for a few minutes until the sun had disappeared below the horizon. "I should get you home…" he spoke softly, and I could not miss the disappointment in his tone.

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A/N: **Please review guys!** I'm dying to hear what you all think. It's my first fanfic, and I could really do with the feedback. Also apologies in advance for the timeline of this story jumping all over the place. Hopefully it's not too confusing and you all appreciate the suspense. xx


	8. None of Our Business

A/N: Over the years I have read so many incredible stories on this website and I thought it would be an experience to write my own version of what I would've liked to happen; – had J.K. Rowling's world ever crossed over with Stephanie Meyers'. I thank both these incredible women for the two worlds they gave me during my childhood and adolescence. Disclaimer: I do not own anything from their creations, besides the following plot. xx

* * *

**Chapter Eight – None of Our Business**

* * *

**_15 March 1995_**

**_Sam Uley POV_**

It was just after sunrise in the morning and I was stomping my way through the forest in my human form. There was not a limb in my body that was not aching from the long night of patrolling. As much as I hated to see so many of the young Quileute boys phasing into our wolf forms, I was desperate for more members of the pack to share patrols with. Just after Christmas time last year, I met one of my ex-girlfriend's cousins; Emily and imprinted on her. I had never felt happier in my life; she literally became my reason for waking up every morning. Though, since the return of an unfamiliar vampire to our area, I have had to increase the number of day and night patrols. Emily and I had only been together for a few months, and majority of that time I had spent in my wolf form, roaming around the reservation. How was I supposed to show Emily that I was falling in love with her, when I barely had any time to spend by her side?

As I walked out from the forest tree line towards my property this morning, I thought briefly over my past few months with Emily. We had been on a handful of cute dates together and spent a few cosy nights curled up on the couch as well. Though I knew, I seriously needed to spoil her with a surprise soon. Even though she was my imprint, and would never leave me; Emily deserved to be treated like royalty. After everything she had already put up with from me and the pack; I needed to spoil her as much as I could. I crossed over the driveway of my cottage and bounded up onto the front steps of the porch. There was a bed with my name on it, right behind the door.

"Oi!" I recognised the human voice of my Beta, yelling out to me in anger. I spun around, bracing for a fight. "I think you need to have a word with your friend Lily Swan." There was a name I hadn't heard in a few months; I wondered what Jacob was crapping on about now.

"Alright, you've got my attention," I nodded my head towards the young teenager to elaborate further.

"Bella's been hav…" I interrupted the kid immediately.

"This is about Bella? Why is it always about Bella these days; what is it with you and this girl Jake?" I demanded in frustration as I opened the front door of my cottage and walked inside. Jacob followed me quietly into the dimly lit living space and shut the door behind him. I stomped over to my fridge and poured myself a glass of orange juice. "Seriously kid; you're skipping out on patrols to hang out with her, you spend half your time at the sheriff's place rather than on the res, and all you think about while you're out patrolling are the conversations you've had with her."

"I do not!" he protested arrogantly, taking a seat at my bench top.

"I can hear your thoughts when we patrol together you idiot," I rolled my eyes at him and he squirmed uncomfortably. I was sick and tired of reliving moments between Jacob and the vampire girl. All I saw in his mind these days were memories of her smile and laughter, of him holding her hand or them snuggling up on the couch together. It was sickening; I actually felt like puking at times. "Just tell her how you feel already!"

"She's still in love with the bloodsucker," he whined miserably.

"Kid, that leech has been gone for six months," I snapped back matter of factly and he threw his hands up in the air in exasperation.

"Well tell her that!" Jacob huffed and I laughed lightly.

"Maybe you should show her," I raised my eyebrow at him and he stared at me for a few moments before gauging what I had actually meant. I did feel sorry for this kid; he was falling for a girl that was pining after his sworn enemy.

"Look, Bella's been having these dreams for the past few months about her using magic and sorcery… What if there's a chance she's a witch like Lily too?"

"It's none of our business Jake, stay out of it," I replied firmly, not particularly concerned by the news of the young girl's dreams.

"But Lily might not know that this magical gene was passed on to Bel…"

"THAT'S AN ORDER JAKE!" I couldn't explain why I was so furious with him, but I hated the idea of him medalling in Lily Swan's business. Jacob stood up from the bar stool behind my kitchen counter to challenge me. He had a scowl on his face and I could tell he wasn't going to back down without a fight on this one. Maybe yelling at my Beta hadn't been the smartest choice.

"What exactly did Lily say to you that night?" Jacob demanded of me, his tone cold and even. It was my turn to sit down at the bench top and start talking.

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_**Flashback; 15 September 1994**_

_I remained where I was around the side of the house, listening to Bella's breathing inside her room above me. I had intended to remain there all evening with the bloodsuckers not that far off. I couldn't smell their sweet scent any more, so I was hoping that meant they had finally disappeared._

_"Goodnight Charlie," Lily called to her brother inside the house as she stepped off the staircase and picked up her keys from the mantle piece inside the living room. Still on the phone to Billy, Charlie called a brief goodbye to his sister as she closed his front door behind her and walked out onto the street, heading towards her apartment._

_I sniffed the air around me and could smell a storm coming in that evening. That was all I needed; to be cold, wet and sick from the evening patrol in the rain. I huffed impatiently; annoyed that there was no practical shelter other than the stupid tree I was standing under. I glanced above me as two squirrels began chirping at each other and scattering about on the branches. I gave a low grumble to shut them up. I hated minute little creatures that got in my way all the time; animals should be large and strong. I smirked in content as the two rodents scampered off higher into the tree, terrified that I would turn them into my dinner. Though, had I not been momentarily distracted by them, I would have heard Lily quickly walk around her brother's house and stop ten metres away from me. _

_"You know, eavesdropping isn't the most polite thing Sam," she called out to me. She didn't look scared, shocked or worried to see a large black wolf standing merely metres away from her. I was the shocked one; how was this even possible? This woman knew I was a wolf, she had known I was listening to their conversation. How much else did she know? "I suggest you change back into your human form so we can have a chat," she stated firmly._

_I hovered where I was; this whole scenario was absurd. I quickly considered pinching myself to see if I was dreaming or imaging things, but I figured that would be slightly difficult in my wolf form. I tilted my head to the side as a show of curiosity and lifted my front paw to take a step forward._

_"Oh no you don't; back up and phase into your human form Sam," Lily commanded. She was scared of me after all. So I figured, I had to be fair; she wanted to talk and I had nothing to fear. I retreated around the back of the sheriff's house and quickly phased back into my dashing human self. I tugged on my black shorts and ruffled my short hair before I trampled out to the side of the house again._

_"I think you have some explaining to do," I called out to her across the backyard, puffing out my bare chest and walking towards her unmoving form._

_"You were the one listening to my conversation with my niece," she challenged playfully. This was one of the first times she and I had actually spoken. Prior to this evening, I hadn't even been sure if she knew my name. She was still the stunning woman I had fantasised over during my adolescence; she just knew about my werewolf secret._

_"How long have you known?" I leaned casually against the trunk of the tree, feigning a cool, relaxed manner. Lily glanced up and down at my posture and smiled. I hoped I was pulling it off well._

_"About the werewolf pack and the vampires in Forks?" she clarified quickly and I nodded once at her, "since the week I arrived here," she replied, the steady tone of her voice unfailing. I was caught completely off guard; how was that even possible?_

_"How?" was all I responded with._

_"I'm a witch; I used to practice magic. I could sense the magical presence around all of you," my mind was reeling. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or take a step away from her. Sorcery was an old myth I had never really believed much in. The tribe's ancestors had told us ancient stories about magic and sorcery, but the newer generations of the pack had never spent much time worrying about it. If this woman told me that dragons and giants were real, I would know she was either lying or delusional._

_"Prove it," I was really trying to keep my cool. I wanted her to like me; to think I was worthy of her company._

_"I haven't practiced magic in fourteen years," she took a step towards me and I didn't feel scared. Some how I knew she wasn't delusional either; I could see it in her eyes. I could sense that she was trustworthy._

_"Why?" I raised an eyebrow at her, curious about her story._

_"A magical tracing charm was placed on me, which will alert a number of people as to my where-abouts, if I perform any magic," she replied with a straight face. I could not understand how this woman was so composed while I was hanging off every word she was saying._

_"You're in hiding?" I quickly gathered and she nodded her head in confirmation. I considered if I ought to be worried; if she was in hiding, there was the chance that she was an evil witch. Maybe the good magical folk were actually trying to locate her. "Who are you hiding from?"_

_"The people who killed my husband," Lily replied evenly before adding, "and the rest of the magical world; they think I'm dead."_

_"Why?" I eagerly asked again; I was absolutely intrigued. So she wasn't an evil witch after all…she had been married. But she had only been twenty-one when she arrived in Forks; maybe the wizarding folk got married at young ages?_

_"I think you know enough now Sam," she responded firmly, "my question to you is; why haven't you attacked me yet?" It was a reasonable question._

_"Because I believe you," I stated sheepishly, Lily nodded and smiled lightly at me. "Why weren't you scared of me when you saw me just now, in wolf form?"_

_"I'm aware that werewolves only attack vampires," she was attractive, captivating and clever. I liked her even more._

_"So you knew your niece was dating a vampire this year?" I queried and she nodded her head twice. "It didn't bother you?"_

_"I think you and I both know that Bella was never really in any danger with the Cullen family. They were good people Sam; Edward was good for her." I hated to admit it, but this woman was right. The vegetarian vampires had never broken their treaty with our tribe. They had never posed a threat to our people or encroached on our land or space. They had even made the effort to walk the other way when they were near us in town. But being a werewolf; it was in my nature to hate them with every fibre of my body. Their presence in this town was triggering the phasing of all our young native boys._

_"This town is better off without them," I replied stubbornly._

_"I don't disagree with you…but you have to admit they were not the horrible bloodsucking monsters that your people have always made them out to be." I cringed to myself; I was starting to hate that this witch was so clever. She was wounding my pride quicker and quicker._

_"How much do you know about my ancestors?"_

_"Enough," she responded and I knew I was not going to get much more out of her._

_"Our secret is safe with you?" I asked curiously._

_"It has been for fourteen years," she stated matter of factly._

_"Who else knows about us?" I asked again, glancing quickly up at the sheriff's house and returning my gaze to her face. It was unlikely that the sheriff knew about the tribe's secret, but there was no harm asking her either._

_"Just myself," Lily responded evenly, tilting her head to one side as I had earlier. She was obviously becoming bored by our conversation._

_"If you've known our secret for fourteen years, why confront me tonight?" Lily smiled and took another few steps towards me._

_"You recovered Bella for us this evening; I owe you. I also respect and trust that you will keep my own secret for me."_

_"Well if I don't, I'll have an attractive witch on my case," I grinned at her._

_"You don't speak like a twenty year old," she watched me very closely. I quickly counted out her approximate age in my head_

_"You don't look like a thirty-five year old," I said charmingly, taking a step closer to her and hoping she would buy it. If there was the slightest possibility that my good looks and alpha voice could win over this woman; I was willing to take it._

_"Are you trying to flirt with a witch Sam?" she raised her eyebrow at me and I knew in that second she was about to shut me down; "because I'm old enough to be your mother."__ That was a rather depressing thought; she would have been a hot mother too._

_"How long do you have to stay in hiding for?" I looked at my feet, changing the subject immediately._

_"It's complicated…" she tried to answer me but simply shook her head in defeat. I smiled at her in understanding; everything was complicated these days. We all lived in a complicated world; magic or not. For whatever it was worth, I was certain I had made a secret ally this evening._

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_A/N: **Please please review guys!** I'm dying to hear what you all think. It's my first fanfic, and I could really do with the feedback. Also apologies in advance for the timeline of this story jumping all over the place. Hopefully it's not too confusing and you all appreciate the suspense. xx_


	9. Cooking Up a Storm

A/N: Over the years I have read so many incredible stories on this website and I thought it would be an experience to write my own version of what I would've liked to happen; – had J.K. Rowling's world ever crossed over with Stephanie Meyers'. I thank both these incredible women for the two worlds they gave me during my childhood and adolescence. Disclaimer: I do not own anything from their creations, besides the following plot. xx

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**Chapter Nine – Cooking Up a Storm**

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_**17 May 1995**_

_**Jacob Black POV**_

There was no doubt that Dad would be happily surprised by his birthday dinner later this evening. Bella was over at our place helping me cook and tidy up for the surprise meal. As I stood in the kitchen chopping up a handful of vegetables, I kept glancing up at Bella across the room, while she laid out place settings on our dining table. I looked over at her long legs, flowing out from beneath her short black and white pleated dress. She looked good with her black high heels on and her long hair tied up in a pony tail. It was as though she had completely changed her style and fashion sense over the past few months. I couldn't complain though; seeing her in short outfits was a plus for me.

"Crap," I glanced down at the growing pool of blood on my chopping board. I had sliced the edge of middle finger.

"You okay?" Bella rushed over and shoved my hand under the tap of cold water. "You're an idiot. Why weren't you concentrating?" She dashed into our bathroom and pulled out a few things from our medicine cabinet and returned to me at the kitchen sink.

"Sorry," I apologised, not really sure what I was apologising for.

"Don't apologise to me you moron," she pulled my hand out from under the stream of water and sprayed it with anti-septic before holding it up to her eyes for inspection. "It's not that deep at all. Plus you'll heal quickly anyway."

"Right…thanks," I stood patiently as my personal nurse continued to look at my finger. "Are you done?" I asked, seeing that there were droplets of blood forming on my finger again. Bella rolled her eyes at me and covered the cut with a bandaid. She then walked over to my chopping board and threw all the pumpkin in the rubbish and washed up the knife and board as I returned the first-aid kit to the bathroom cabinet.

"You can go finish setting the table," she instructed me casually, as I returned to the kitchen. I stood where I was for a few moments watching Bella strut around my dad's kitchen in heels, busy pulling out ingredients from our pantry and fridge. It was a sight I could get used to seeing. She stopped in the middle of the kitchen and turned to face me. "What are you staring at?"

"Nothing; sorry…" I leaped over to the other side of the room so I could continue setting the dining table for Bella.

"For heaven's sakes Jake, stop apologising to me!" she laughed and shook her head at me.

"Sorry…" I mumbled again, but was sure she hadn't heard me. I was losing my head with this girl. The more submissive and accommodating I was towards her, the more irritated she would get with me. Yet when I tried to be dominant and playful with her, she became quiet and subdued around me. I really wasn't sure what to do; I wasn't even entirely sure if she liked me back. She had flirted a lot more these past few months, but she hadn't made a move or admitted any feelings for me. Maybe it was my job to make the move on her; I wished there was some kind of rule book on women!

"Jake what are you doing?" she came over to the dining table chuckling. I glanced up at her to see she had a light playful expression on her face. "Here, let me show you how to set a table." She stepped in front of me and took hold of all the cutlery still in my hands. I could smell her sweet floral perfume on her neck and shoulders and all I wanted to do was lean my lips closer to her bare skin. I followed her around the dining table, not really listening to her instructions about place settings. We were having all the tribal elders for dinner this evening as a surprise to Dad. Our house had not been so tidy or well decorated since my mum was still alive. Bella started to tease me for being so clueless and I reached out to tickle her playfully in retaliation.

"Jake stop!" she squealed as I locked my arms around her waist to prevent her from escaping. I was enjoying her fidgeting and squirming against me.

"Say please," I commanded and she refused, fighting harder to break free. We laughed together as she wriggled and fussed claiming I was an utter nuisance. Eventually she settled down in my arms and for a few moments we stood pressed against each other, staring into each other's eyes. I reached up and placed one of my hands on her cheek and she blushed furiously under my warm touch. I leant in towards her, sure that that was the right moment to make my move. But Bella dropped my gaze and stepped away from my hold.

"I'm going to go have a shower and get ready," I said to her as the tension between us evaporated quickly. "You'll be right with everything in here?" she nodded and smiled at me as I disappeared into the bathroom. I was not sure what had just happened.

During my shower I thought over the past few months I had spent with Bella and everything that had transpired between the two of us. I considered all the flirting, the late nights, the deep conversations and secrets we had shared. I knew I couldn't keep waiting for her to make a move. I was adamant that I would tell her how I felt before the guests had started to arrive this evening. I stepped out of the shower and towelled off before changing into my blue dress shirt and black pants. I checked myself out in the mirror and realised I hadn't put as much effort into my appearance since my sister Rebecca's wedding a few years ago.

As I made my way into the living room to straighten out the furniture, I was sure I was imagining Bella gaping at me from the kitchen bench top. I turned towards her and raised an eyebrow in question, as she continued to glance up and down my body.

"You like what you see?" I teased her lightly, wondering how she would respond.

"Not as much as you like what you see," she raised her eyebrow back at me, and turned towards the pasta sauce she was stirring on the stove. I stood in the middle of my living room completely stunned; this girl was turning me on.

"Oh yeah?" I challenged her with a grin.

"Yeah," she winked back at me and continued stirring on the stovetop.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that Miss Swan," I scoffed at her and went to hang a 'Happy 50th Birthday' banner across our living room wall. I thought by playing hard to get, I would strike a nerve with her. It was only a few moments later that Bella was by my side, assisting me with the banner. She kicked off her heels, and climbed up onto a chair. I gripped her by the waist to prevent her from falling and felt her tense and then relax with the contact. Together we managed to mount it on the wall in a straight position. She finally climbed down and placed her feet back into her black heels.

"I'm going to go check on the roast," she added after we were done, and turned around to walk back to the kitchen.

"Wait," I grabbed her arm and pulled her back towards me abruptly. It was a spirit of the moment move, but I was glad I had done it. Bella collided with my chest, allowing me to quickly wrap an arm around her waist, as I steadied her. "I need to tell you something Bells…"

"Jake…" she breathed, we were literally nose to nose. I raised my pointer finger to her lips to shush her. There was so much colour rushing to her pale cheeks, and her eyes were slowly glazing over as she focused on me.

"I can't stand this anymore…you know how I feel about you," I pleaded desperately with my eyes, hoping she could see how anxious I was. Bella's eyes widened and she started to shake her head at me as though she didn't want me to say anymore.

"Jake, I never…" I didn't give her the chance to think or breathe as I crushed my lips to hers. The taste of her lips sent a current running through my body. It took her a few seconds to get used to it, but Bella melted into my embrace and kissed me back passionately. Before I knew it her hands were locked around the back of my neck and I had her pushed up against the back of our couch. Her soft lips worked furiously against mine, fighting for dominance and urging me on further.

"Calm down tiger," I removed my lips from hers and went to attack her neck. Bella closed her eyes and moaned a few moments later. I was glad I had found her weak spot.

"All I was going to say; was that I never knew how you felt," she mentioned and I stood up straight to look at her.

"Seriously?" I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. She shook her head with a blank expression on her face.

"I mean…we've been flirting for months but I wasn't sure how you felt and I didn't want to look stupid and make a mo…" I placed both my hands on either side of her face and kissed her tenderly.

"You're so dumb sometimes Bells," she seemed offended for a few seconds but I went back to kissing her neck. She brought my lips back to hers and we kissed for a while longer. It felt amazing to actually hold her and kiss her the way I had dreamt of these past few months.

"Everything okay?" I asked as Bella broke away from me suddenly.

"Yeah, I just…needed to breathe," she smiled and turned away from me, "And check the roast," we chuckled and I took hold of her hand as we walked back towards the stove. Together we danced around each other in the kitchen, hurrying through the few remaining dishes we had to prepare. This mostly consisted of me grabbing hold of her waist every five seconds and pushing her up against the counter to make out. When everything was just about ready I dragged her giggling and screaming back into my room and threw her on my bed and closed the door.

"Jake you'll crease your shirt…" Bella worried as I climbed on top of her and began to kiss her hungrily. Though it was evident neither of us really cared too much about the shirt, as she kicked off her heels and knotted her legs with mine. I pulled her hair out of her high pony tail and began to weave my hands through her long waves. Bella nibbled sensually on my ear and kissed the side of my neck.

"You don't know how long I've wanted to do this Bells," I whispered in her ear. She locked her lips back onto mine and pushed my lips apart with her tongue. I couldn't help but notice how well her body meshed with mine. It was as though there wasn't an inch of space between us, where our bodies didn't meet. Bella climbed on top and straddled my legs as I sat up and trailed kisses down her neck and collar bone. We were too engrossed in exploring each other's bodies to hear my room door swing open. Lily cleared her throat;

"Well you two have certainly been cooking up a storm," she coughed, as Charlie walked up behind her.

"What the bloody hell is going on here?" he yelled angrily. I was dreading the rest of this birthday meal. It was going to be a long night.

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A/N: **Pretty please review guys!** I'm dying to hear what you all think. It's my first fanfic, and I could really do with the feedback. Also apologies in advance for the timeline of this story jumping all over the place. Hopefully it's not too confusing and you all appreciate the suspense. xx


	10. Unexpected Visitors to Forks

A/N: Over the years I have read so many incredible stories on this website and I thought it would be an experience to write my own version of what I would've liked to happen; – had J.K. Rowling's world ever crossed over with Stephanie Meyers'. I thank both these incredible women for the two worlds they gave me during my childhood and adolescence. Disclaimer: I do not own anything from their creations, besides the following plot. xx

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**Chapter Ten – Unexpected Visitors to Forks**

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**_24 June 1995_**

**_Lily Potter POV_**

There was an old saying my father always used to state about time flying by when people were having fun. I remember thinking it was so silly growing up; until I realised he was right. My time with James had been cut so short; yet I remember loving mostly every minute of it. There were other moments I had shared with certain friends too, which had flown past so quickly. Afternoons in the park with Severus near Spinners End; study sessions in the library with Remus or even girl time in the Gryffindor common room with Mary and Alice. They were the kind of fun moments that had made me realise time passed by so quickly.

It was nearing nine in the evening, and Bella had spent the whole afternoon laughing and enjoying herself in my apartment with me. Charlie had had a work function in Port Angeles this evening, so I suggested Bella stay over at mine for the night. It was not often she slept over at the apartment, given that Charlie lived so close by. During her younger summers in Forks, I had always stayed at Charlie's place had he been working late or if she required babysitting. Though lately, Bella had barely spent much time around Charlie or I. Her new relationship with Jacob had kept her quite busy; and constantly out on the reservation. Obviously dating a werewolf was a fulltime commitment. As much as I liked Jacob and was thrilled for Bella, I also missed spending time with my niece. Tonight was the perfect chance for us to catch up without Jacob attached to her side.

Earlier in the afternoon, we had assisted Charlie in getting ready for his fancy dinner; picking his shirt, fastening his cuff links and tying his tie for him. He was hopeless with dressing himself for social events; my brother's preferred wardrobe was always his sheriff uniform or his fishing gear. After sending him on his way, and making him promise not to drink while he was out, Bella and I walked back over to my apartment with her overnight bag. We had agreed to cook dinner together, watch a chick flick and give each other makeovers. Having a daughter would be incredible; I envied all those young mothers with teenage daughters to shop, cook and talk with.

As I stood over my stove stirring the chopped vegetables into my sautéed dish, I laughed lightly with Bella as she sat on my couch painting her toe nails. All she had talked about lately was Jacob and their adventures together. The amount of time she was spending down in La Push, had basically wiped the Cullen family from her mind. From cliff diving, to camping and hiking trips in the forest, Bella had story after story about the La Push kids. I wasn't entirely thrilled to hear that she was dirt bike riding with Jacob though. Or that they were becoming more physical with each other either. It didn't help that I also knew Jacob was climbing into Bella's room every night, just as Edward had. Then again, Edward had been too old-fashioned for me to have even worried about him sleeping with Bella. But I suppose it wasn't really my place to interfere. James and I had started having sex when we were sixteen, and Bella was already eighteen. I sighed to my self realising that age and maturity had made me responsible and conservative. Maybe the worry and paranoia just came with being a parent or guardian. I wondered if I needed to talk to her about contraception; I really didn't think I'd need to, she was already eighteen and she wasn't stupid either. I couldn't believe how time had flown so quickly; Bella had been four years old when I had moved to Forks in hiding. I glanced over at the young woman sitting on my couch and smiled fondly.

"Hey Tink, can you set the table for dinner when your toes dry?"

"Yep sure," she started blowing on her toes for a few minutes and then got up to set my dining table. Maybe I needed to stop calling her 'Tink' as well, just as I had when she was a child. I rolled my eyes at myself and tried to think back to when I had been eighteen and how annoyed I'd get at the adults in my life for treating me like a kid. I didn't want to be the condescending, paranoid, uncool aunt in Bella's life.

Together we sat down to my sautéed stir-fry and began to chat about plans for Charlie's upcoming birthday. Bella talked animatedly about having a surprise barbeque for him down in La Push. Naturally that was where she would want it; I'm sure my niece would go and live out there if she could. Jacob had obviously opened up to her about the wolf pack and everything else that went on down at the beach, such as the tribal meetings, wolf patrols and training as well as the continuous parties, barbeques and massive meals. What amused me was the fact that her deception and manipulation skills had improved. Over the past two months, I had witnessed countless conversations between her and Charlie in which she had talked her way out of breaking her curfew, or convinced him to allow her to stay out overnight at her boyfriend's house. I couldn't believe how soft Charlie had become, nor could I believe how quick-tongued Bella was either. Though, I suppose having two mythical creatures as boyfriends, would certainly give you an edge on keeping secrets and lying. Again, it hadn't been my place to interfere with her rule-breaking or to clue Charlie in either. I suppose the fact was; I trusted Jacob, and I trusted Sam. After Bella and I finished our dinner, we quickly washed up the dishes and decided to give Bella a haircut

"Maybe layers and a side fringe, but I'm not sure," she was skimming through photos on her laptop for ideas.

"I think that would look nice Bells, I like your length the way it is," I commented running my fingers through her long strands.

"Yeah I don't think I'd like it any shorter," she mumbled absently still flicking through photos.

"I'll go get my scissors and comb," I left her on the couch and ran up to my room to fetch what I needed to cut Bella's hair. Spending fourteen years in hiding had given me the free time and space to achieve a number of things with my life. When I wasn't at work or with Charlie or Remus, I had spent my time learning new things and perfecting some of my hobbies. Taking a short course in hair dressing had been one of them. I had also learnt to play the piano extremely well, taken a master cooking class, a ballroom dancing class and a two year sewing course as well.

As I entered my room, I caught sight of the hamper of wizard treats that Remus had bought me six months earlier, in the corner. The morning after Christmas, I had made Remus promise to return to Forks frequently, so that he could bring me more wizarding sweets. Considering the fact he never broke his promises, I had seen him every three to four weeks since Christmas. When I had asked him to keep replenishing my stash of sweets, I hadn't actually meant it. I'd really just wanted to see him more often than usual and I had also wanted to remain updated with Harry and the Triwizard Tournament. Though Remus, being the sweetheart that he was; had kept my colourful hamper of sweets overflowing this past half year. I walked over to the colourful box and opened the lid, feeling like a quick dose of sugar. Besides the chocolate frogs and Bertie Bott's Beans, there were also a handful of sugar-spun quills, exploding bonbons, fizzing whizzbees and creaming nougats. I closed the lid realising it probably wasn't wise eating any of them with Bella downstairs. I sighed to myself missing Remus. It had been nearly a month since I'd seen him; things were obviously keeping him busy in the wizarding world.

I grabbed my hairdressing kit from my cupboard and returned to Bella downstairs. She happily showed me a picture on her laptop of a long layered haircut she fancied. We pulled a chair into my downstairs bathroom and I set to work on her beautiful hair. After an hour or so, I managed to finish layering her side fringe.

"There you go, no more split ends Bells. And your fringe is just short enough to not fall into your eyes and annoy you," I smiled happily, pleased with my work. I spent ten minutes blow drying her hair for her and she squealed in delight.

"I love it, I absolutely love it Aunt Lils, thank you" she kissed me on the cheek and then stood in front of my mirror for the next five to ten minutes. She played with her hair, experimenting with it in different partings, up-dos and styles. I wasn't sure if she was the same tom-boy that had been living under Charlie's roof the previous year. While she had been with Edward, she had not been concerned at all with her appearance. In actual fact, before Jacob and she had become friends, I had never seen Bella in a dress, with make up on or even in heels. I chuckled to myself as I cleaned up the bathroom floor around her feet with my broomstick, sweeping all her hair into a dustpan. I started wishing I could practice magic again. I had even read a charm in The Standard Book of Spells last night that made broomsticks sweep up for you. I huffed in frustration; I couldn't wait to use my wand again.

"You okay Aunt Lils?" Bella asked in response to my huffing, "oh here let me do that for you!" she took the broom from my hand and cleaned up the remainder of the bathroom for me while I made up her guest bedroom. After we were both done clearing up we agreed to watch a movie together on the couch. I grabbed one of the bigger quilts from upstairs and curled up with Bella on the couch under it. She had set up the DVD player for us and the opening adverts to the movie had already started.

"So what are we watching?" I asked casually.

"You'll see," she giggled lightly. Within a few moments the beginning of Disney's 'Peter Pan' had begun. I tickled Bella under the quilt.

"Aren't you a little old for this movie Tink?" she squirmed and laughed with me.

"Never," she answered playfully. When Bella had been much younger, she and I had always curled up on the couch together and watched a heap of the Disney classics. I remember pulling her onto my lap and sitting through one after another of the Princess movies; Cinderella, Snow White, Little Mermaid…the list went on. But Bella's favourite film had always been Peter Pan. She would wish she was Wendy, and that she would fly off to Neverland and stay young forever with Peter. I chuckled at the memory, comparing it to her reality, in which she had started dating a vampire who would eventually fly her off to another country to escape the treaty here in America, allowing her to stay young forever with immortality. I used to say to Bella, that if she flew off with Peter she would leave me behind, and that would make me cry. So she had said I could come with her and just be Tinkerbell. I told her I would happily come with her to Neverland if I was allowed to be Wendy, and she would be Tinkerbell. At the age of five, my young niece had happily agreed to the trade and since then, my nickname for her had always been Tinkerbella.

"I think we should buy Charlie a dog like 'Nana,' it might do him some good," Bella commented, her eyes glued to the television screen. I thought about it for a few minutes and realised Bella was onto something.

"Maybe it would be a good birthday gift for him," I added as we continued to watch the film in silence. Halfway through the film Bella rested her head on my shoulder and I began to stroke her hair absently. The movie continued on for a little while longer before I heard a loud pop in my kitchen. Bella and I both looked up to see a frightened Remus standing in front of my fridge.

"What the..?" Bella jumped up terrified of what she had just seen. Before I could reach out for her, Remus had muttered "obliviate" and knocked her out with a sleeping spell. Bella fell with a thud to my tiled floor.

"Bella," I yelled rushing over to her.

"I'm so sorry Lils, I didn't know she'd be here," he ran over to where I was crouched over my niece.

"I hope she didn't hurt herself when she fell," I said horrified, glancing at the clock on my kitchen wall. It was just after one in the morning.

"No she wouldn't have; the sleeping charm masks all that," Remus reassured me hurriedly. He looked terrible, absolutely terrible; probably as bad as he looked after a full moon. Sparing no time at all, Remus pointed his wand at Bella and levitated her upstairs.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked quickly, not even sure why he was here.

"I have to talk to you immediately, where can I put her?" Remus spluttered out anxiously and I became scared. I told him to put her in the guestroom upstairs. I followed him upstairs with the quilt and draped it over Bella on the guest bed. Remus doubled his sleeping charm so she would remain in her slumber until the later hours of the morning. I closed her room door and was about to follow Remus downstairs when he stopped me.

"Where's your wand Lily?" I frowned at him. He never called me Lily, and I wondered why the hell he was asking after my wand.

"In my r…" he cut me off in a second.

"Get it. NOW!" I started breathing quickly and dashed into my room to retrieve my wand from behind a large picture frame of me and James together. The second I came out of my room Remus grabbed my hand and dragged me downstairs. The second we stepped off the staircase, I turned to him to ask what the hell was going on but Remus cut me off;

"You need to cast an Intruder or Caterwauling Charm," he commanded quickly. I stared at my old friend as though he was speaking another language. Had he lost his mind? He knew I couldn't perform any magic… "Lily, He Who Must Not Be Named has risen again…cast a charm _now_." I stared at Remus in disbelief. I could not comprehend what he was saying. Without wasting a second, he walked right up to me and shook me violently by the shoulders. "Snap out of it Lils; we don't have time for one of your break downs! You can practice magic again; he's come back to life. _Cast a spell NOW!_" Remus yelled and then mumbled out the incantation for me. I repeated it absently, holding out my wand and feeling the power surge through my body for the first time in years. There was a burst of light from the tip of my wooden stick, and after a second or so, I had a faint sense of security running through my body. I had never noticed that feeling before with spells or charms…

"He came back to power this evening Lils," Remus relaxed a little. We stood in the middle of my living room, where we had danced on Christmas night. "He nearly killed Harry in his final task of the Tournament. Harry managed to hold his own and get himself out of there before anything happened. Wormtail was with him too; according to Harry, Peter was the one who resurrected him. But he knows you're alive now…Vol" Remus paused, "He knows you didn't die that night Lils…"

"Rem?" I squeaked inaudibly and he rushed over and held me. We squeezed each other in fear and for comfort. "I can't believe this is happening." Remus ran his hand through my hair affectionately. We stood in the middle of my living room for possibly an hour, both our wands clasped tightly in our hands. Neither of us moved; neither of us spoke; neither of us cried.

"It's going to be okay Lils, Harry's okay. He's alive," Remus finally broke the silence.

"But how did Voldem…"

"DON'T! There could be a trace on the name…don't say it," Remus reacted quickly and then grabbed hold of me again.

"How did he find out?" I whispered into his shoulder. Remus knew exactly what I was referring to.

"We suspect he used Legilimency on Wormtail after he came back to power, and saw you in his mind…He's got some of his Death Eaters out looking for you right now."

"And Harry?"

"He's safe for now Lily, leave him to Dumbledore."

"What are we all going to do?" I sobbed into his chest miserably and he rested his head on mine. A few minutes later there was another loud pop in my kitchen. Remus and I immediately raised our wands in that direction, to find Severus Snape standing there.

"Severus what are you doing here?" I gasped in shock.

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A/N: **Pretty please REVIEW guys!** I'm dying to hear what you all think. It's my first fanfic, and I could really do with the feedback. I'd also love to hear some of your thoughts on the plot and what you think is actually happening/going to happen **!**


	11. The First Endless Night Pt1

A/N: Over the years I have read so many incredible stories on this website and I thought it would be an experience to write my own version of what I would've liked to happen; – had J.K. Rowling's world ever crossed over with Stephanie Meyers'. I thank both these incredible women for the two worlds they gave me during my childhood and adolescence. Disclaimer: I do not own anything from their creations, besides the following plot. xx

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**Chapter Eleven – The First Endless Night Pt.1**

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_**31 October 1981**_

_**Albus Dumbledore POV**_

_**Flashback;**_

_It was only natural to be indecisive about something like this. I paced my office anxiously, clutching tightly to the piece of parchment with the slender elegant penmanship on it. I had received an owl from one of my former students minutes earlier, - a student I would've been glad to never hear from again. Desperately, I glanced up at the portraits surrounding my office, each distinguished face shaking their head in disapproval. It was all it took to make up my mind; I was going to meet with this young man. Continuing to pace the room for a few more minutes, I realised my curiosity would eventually get the better of me if I were not to go. Without a seconds warning, I gathered up my cloak and wand, before spinning on the spot and landing with a blinding flash of light on the windy hilltop. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the darkness, but after a second or so, I could see the hill was isolated from any trees or natural surroundings. I absolutely despised terrible gusty weather, and I could sense that tonight was going to be nothing short of a storm._

_Further down the hill, the adult Severus Snape stood frantically glancing around himself as if he were about to be ambushed. The sound of my appearance froze him into a frightened stillness and all he could do was stare up at my hooded figure; I was his former Headmaster. I quickly disarmed him of his wand, and caught it as it flew up the hill towards me. Severus seemed to accept that I had disarmed him, so I cautiously summoned the younger man forward with two fingers. I watched silently as he climbed up towards me. I was rather annoyed at myself that I had not yet figured out the reason for this Death Eater's request to meet. Severus was panting as he reached the top, glancing around in the dark. I could tell, he was wondering if he had made the right decision coming to me. It made me that much more curious; I was intrigued. The young man standing in front of me did not want to be here; yet for some reason he needed to be._

_"Well Severus? What message does Lord Voldemort have for me?" I spoke out breaking the stormy silence._

_"No – no message – I'm here on my own account! I'm here with a request," he panted out and eagerly awaited my response. _

_"What request could a Death Eater make of me?" I roared against the gusty breeze, my stern demeanour frightening Severus further._

_"The – the prophecy… the prediction … Trelawney…" rasped Severus desperately._

_"Ah, yes," I said, still having no clue where this conversation was going. "How much did you relay to Lord Voldemort?"_

_"Everything – everything I heard!" said Severus miserably. "That is why – it is for that reason – he thinks it means Lily Evans, her son!"_

_"James and Lily Potter are in hiding, their son is perfectly safe," Snape cringed at the use of Lily's new married name. _

_"No! You don't understand sir – the Dark Lord was approached by their Secret Keeper not an hour ago," Severus gushed out desperately, and for the first time in weeks, I felt cold. I could not imagine Sirius Black ever betraying James or Lily, not in a million years. Though some how, deep down, I knew their location had been divulged to Tom Riddle. And with that, I panicked; I realised they had no time left._

_"Has Lord Voldemort acted on this information as yet?" I asked the man icily._

_"No, but he intends to do so before this night is over," the young Death Eater cried helplessly. I thought quickly, while I continued to extract any information I could._

_"If she means so much to you," I began hesitantly, "surely Lord Voldemort will spare her? Could you not ask for mercy for the mother, in exchange for the son?"_

_"I have – I have asked him –"_

_"You disgust me Severus"' I interrupted him, speaking with much contempt in my voice. Snape seemed to shrink further into the ground. "You do not care about the deaths of her husband and child? They can die, as long as you have what you want?" I asked rhetorically. The thin miserable man looked up desperately at me;_

_"Hide them all then," he croaked. "Keep her – them – safe. Please."_

_"And what will you give me in return, Severus?" I was plucking ideas out of the sky, thinking on the spot, as every second ticked by._

_"In return?" Snape gaped at me, ready to protest, but after a long moment he must have thought better of it and replied, "Anything."_

_"You will swear your loyalty to me, as of tonight?" I questioned and tilted my head impatiently as the other man hesitated._

_"Yes – if you protect her. Yes – I will." I stepped forward and handed his wand to him. I surveyed Snape's trembling form one last time before I Apparated back to my office, leaving the Death Eater with a single parting instruction;_

_"I will be in touch Severus, be mindful of your thoughts from here on."_

_The moment my soles touched the carpeted floor of my office, I leaped over to the fireplace and Flooed yet another of my former students. The second younger male was equally as surprised to hear from me, as I had been to hear from Severus. Within moments the two of us were seated on either side of my desk, discussing the most successful plan of action._

_"Sir, are you sure we can trust Snape?" he asked worriedly._

_"I am certain, the question is; are you able to do what I have asked of you?" the man in front of me rubbed his arms and hung his head miserably. He was aware we had not a minute to spare with three lives depending on our discretion and haste. Though I could understand he also needed a minute to process some of the information I had disclosed to him. At twenty-one years of age, he had seen his fair share of darkness and loss in the Wizarding World, yet this decision was one that would haunt him every day, for the remainder of his life. Times were dark, and desperate measures were being taken by every witch, wizard and family. As much as the man in front of me understood the reasoning behind my request, I'm sure he could not comprehend the fact that it was being asked of him, or even the fact that it was being asked altogether. Neither of us could believe Sirius Black had betrayed James and Lily._

_"But Professor, why me?" he asked miserably._

_"Because you love her, just as much – if not more than James."_

_"Professor – I,"_

_"I would not be asking this of you, if there were any other way. You are definitely one of their Secondary Keepers?" I pushed forward with him. We had no time to feel guilty or become emotional._

_"I understand sir; Yes I am," he whispered grimly._

_"Swear to me, you will follow my instructions exactly?" I asked again, handing the invisibility cloak across the table to him._

_"I swear sir, to the best of my ability."_

_"I am sorry to place this burden on you," I stood up from behind my desk and turned my back on the young man. Gazing out my office window into the night sky, I was terrified of what was to come._

_"Sir, there is no adequate apology, for asking me to save Lily's life over James', I do not mean to be disrespectful," and with that Remus Lupin grasped a handful of Floo powder and disappeared to Godric's Hollow, leaving me feeling quite ashamed of myself._

_The following forty minutes presented to be the most excruciatingly difficult moments of my life. Not knowing whether the young Lily and James Potter were alive, not knowing whether their infant; Harry, the Chosen One had survived Tom Riddle's attack and not knowing whether Remus Lupin had followed my instructions or jeopardised the whole plan. I paced my office, back and forth, before deciding I had far more important things to do than lose my mind. I summoned a house elf into my office, and requested the small creature locate my Deputy Headmistress; Minerva McGonagall immediately. After a few more paces of my office, I hadn't managed to shake the thought of Sirius Black's betrayal, and knew my mind would not be at peace unless I knew for certain. Striding over to my fireplace I Flooed the eldest Black son, and requested his presence in my office. A bewildered Sirius stepped out of the fireplace and quickly became infuriated by my tone of questioning. Unlike my usual self, I was not being tactful; I was panicking and I was furious._

_"Old man, if you have something to say, you had bloody well better say it fast," spat Sirius, obviously wondering what in Merlin's name was going on. Moments later Professor McGonagall entered the office, and demanded an explanation to the commotion in front of her._

_"Did you or did you not sell out Lily and James to Lord Voldemort earlier this evening?" I demanded angrily. It took the three of us a matter of minutes to establish that Sirius had not been the primary Secret Keeper as to the Potter's whereabouts, and that young Peter Pettigrew had taken on that responsibility of the Fidelius Charm. McGonagall was beside herself; I had never seen her in such a state, nor had she ever seen me as alarmed as I was. Naturally, Sirius was outraged with the discovery of Wormtail's betrayal of Padfoot and was ready to Apparate out of the office and slaughter his former friend. Though, thankfully within moments Remus appeared in the middle of the office, supporting a distraught Lily. The second Lily landed in my office she flung herself out of Remus' grasp and began yelling as many insufferable torments at him as she could manage, as he had just removed her from her son's side._

_"Harry is still IN THERE! We have to GO BACK," she screamed at Remus, not realising the two of them had company. Remus nodded at me dismally and then caught sight of Sirius standing in the corner._

_"YOU!" Remus raised his wand and cast a stunning spell at his friend furiously, which I quickly blocked, before throwing up a shield between Sirius and Remus._

_"Remus, calm down it was not Sirius who sold out James, but Peter – he was their Secret Keeper." I quickly explained and then beckoned McGonagall over to my side. We could both see the anger and tension between the two old friends. Lily on the other hand, was ready to attack anyone who got in her way of rescuing her son. I quietly instructed my Deputy to take our Groundskeeper; Hagrid and retrieve the young infant from Godric's Hollow. She Disapparated without a word from my side, leaving me with the three friends._

_"Where is James? Harry?" Sirius yelled at everyone frantically. Lily having noticed her surroundings, answered in tears._

_"James is dead, Voldemort killed him on sight," she sobbed, "Headmaster, I need to get back to Harry!" she yelled again desperately. "Let me out of here," she whined miserably, as she tried to Apparate out of the office but failed, as my anti-apparation jinx prevented her from doing so._

_"No," I said sternly. Lily's facial expression changed from agony, to confusion and distress, to sheer anger in less than half a second._

_"What do you mean, no?" she screamed at me and ran straight for the door; which was the only other way out of my office. By this stage Sirius had also attempted to Apparate out of the room to go after Wormtail, and had been trapped by the jinx. This seriously angered him and he too was causing his own racquet. _

_"Lily, calm down please?" Remus begged and begged again, though there was no reasoning with the distressed mother._

_"LILY," I roared, silencing the room. "ENOUGH! Harry is being looked after," I said clearly and summoned a chair from thin air. Pointing my wand at the infuriated mother, I levitated her back across the room and then charmed her to the chair. Lily blinked in confusion, before realising I had forced her to sit upon the chair obediently. The second she tried to stand, her legs and backside were forced back down by magic._

_"Let her go Professor; let us go to Harry!" Sirius yelled in defence of Lily._

_"Mr. Black I suggest you find a chair and sit down as well, unless you want me to organise it for you," I whispered in frustration and exhaustion. I spent the next five minutes, promising over and over again that young Harry was indeed safe, to Lily and Sirius. It seemed as though there was no reasoning with the two friends. After finally convincing them both that that Harry was being retrieved by Professor McGonagall, I conjured up a pot of tea to calm down and soothe the three Order members. Lupin too was feeling the fatigue, and pulled up a chair next to Lily's and collapsed helplessly, awaiting further instruction from me._

_The three friends sat unemotionally, some what sedately on the other side of my desk, reflecting over the evening's events. Not one of them had been expecting the attack or betrayal, the loss or turn of the night. I watched sadly as tear after tear rolled from each of their eyes across my desk. I could not help myself either, James Potter had not been a mere student of mine, he had been a friend and fellow member of The Order._

_Remus and I watched as Sirius stood quickly and dropped to Lily's feet and broke down despairingly in her lap. The two remained there, holding onto each other for what seemed like dear life. It was a heartbreaking sight for me; I could feel each of their pain and loss for what it was; the loss of a dear friend, a husband, and a truly good man._

_Knowing they needed to grieve properly, I gave them as much time as I could afford, before instructing them further for that night. I really hadn't wanted to separate the three friends from each other, but for the safety of little Harry Potter, it had to be done. After much protestation, Sirius agreed that he would eventually be tried by the Ministry, and found guilty of the staged murder of Pettigrew, the murder of twelve muggles as well as the betrayal of the Potter's hideout. In turn he would be sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban. Lily angrily protested alongside Sirius and refused to allow James' best mate to rot away in the Wizarding prison._

_"Who do you think you are? You have no right Dumbledore!" she yelled angrily from her chair, still restrained by my obedience charm._

_"Lily hush," Remus tried to reason with his old friend again._

_"Shut up Moony, you'll be lucky if I ever speak with you again," the woman snapped at him. I felt sorry for the man; his love for her would surely ruin him. Lily rounded on me hastily;_

_"I want to see Harry NOW! And you WILL find another future for Sirius; he will not go to Azkaban for Peter's crimes…" her voice broke at the mention of Wormtail._

_"I understand how you must be feeling Lily dear," I tried to soothe calmly._

_"DO NOT CALL ME DEAR," she screamed at me. My heart broke into a million pieces; she was not the bright and brilliant Head Girl from Gryffindor I knew. The Lily Potter sitting before me would slowly break into a million pieces over the years to come. She would never have the same spirit she had in her youth or compassion for her fellow peers. She would lead a lonely life of misery and abandonment; just as Sirius would in Azkaban; and just as Harry would in his new home. Lily would not get the chance to be a mother to her son; to raise him and care for him. If I could hate myself for anything I had done in this world; it would be for separating Lily from her son; for sending Sirius to Azkaban; and for persuading Remus to save Lily's life over James'. Tonight was the first of many endless nights to come for these three friends; it would be the night we would all dream about in our sleep only to wake up in sheer agony._

_"Please understand Lily…" I tried to reason with her._

_"No, there is NO understanding any of this Dumbledore," she cut me off furiously. Remus remained quietly in his seat beside Lily, bewildered with the way she was speaking to me. There was no questioning it; I had lost every last inch of respect from this woman within the past hour. Sirius stood up from the floor by Lily's feet and went to stand behind her chair loyally. I could see deep within his eyes, he was in the midst of comprehending my need for him to go to Azkaban. I let out the briefest sigh of relief; Sirius was going to give in._

_"Dumbledore…" he began hesitantly and I saw Lily's eyes widen in shock._

_"YOU ARE NOT GOING TO PRISON," she cut him off as she turned around in her seat to face him angrily._

_"Lils, you can't save all of us…" Sirius responded in defeat. A second later Lily had reached up and slapped Padfoot across the face. Sirius stood where he was in shock before bending down and wrapping his arms sadly around Lily's shoulders, as they broke down a second time for the night._

_The atmosphere in the room was tense and heavy. After Sirius' surrender it seemed as though the three friends had lost any will to move forward with their lives, they were merely accepting the fates I was handing to them. I explained to Sirius, a time would come in which he would be able to escape the prison. Until then he would abide by his sentencing in the interest of Harry. After another few minutes, I then instructed Remus to escort Lily to her elder brother's house in Forks, Washington. Lily looked up in surprise at this new establishment, clearly wondering why on earth I was sending her there._

_"Lily, I am not able to explain to you right now the reason why…but for many reasons, you will not be allowed to see Harry for a very long time." Lily yelled and screamed for a good few minutes more, before I cast a silencing charm on her and continued to explain that it was for the young boy's safety, that in time she would be reunited with her son – once Lord Voldemort had risen again._

_I originally had had no intention of relaying the entire prophecy to Lily and James Potter. I had merely sent them into hiding, claiming that the Dark Lord was after them because they had defied him multiple times. Though, given the circumstance that Lily and the other two friends were in, I knew I owed them some more information. I went on and explained to them my encounter with Sybill Trelawney and the prophecy the young Seer had made; reciting it from my memory, to them;_

_'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not…and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…'_

_The three friends sat bewildered and horrified with the news that the Dark Lord would return to power, and little Harry would be the only one to kill him. Lily and Sirius looked like they were going to be sick. I had just told a mother that her son had a dangerous destiny ahead of him; a destiny that she could not shelter him from. I could only imagine the distressing thoughts going through all of their heads. _

_Unfortunately for them, time was ticking on and I needed all three of them absent from my office, as I had other matters to attend to that evening. I instructed Sirius to return to his cottage alone and that he would be arrested later that hour. Allowing them their emotional farewell, I waited patiently as the three friends embraced fondly. Lupin then gripped Lily's arm, ready to Apparate her to Forks._

_"Headmaster; Snape thinks she's dead," Remus commented finally._

_"Good; he is not to know she survived," I gazed out my window onto the dark grounds below me, "No one is to know Lily survived, besides the three of us, and Professor McGonagall." With that Lily and Remus disappeared from the tense office, as did Sirius moments later._

_I sighed sadly to myself, remembering how the young Marauders and Lily would run down the school corridors together, laughing and smiling. The turn of the evening had been truly saddening, it left me feeling empty inside. The five friends together, had inspired much hope and spirit in their fellow peers, teachers and Order members. I just hoped that the remaining friends would manage to overcome their loss together over the years and unite in their desperate need to protect Harry._

_Returning to reality, I shook my thoughts out of my head and picked up my quill. I began writing a lengthy letter of explanation to a very petulant, Petunia Dursley. The one year old boy had no other option, than to be left in his Aunt's care. Given that Remus had executed my plan successfully and saved both Harry and Lily earlier this evening, there was no other alternative for the boy. Harry Potter would spend majority of his life growing up without parents. Quickly recalling my few encounters with the eldest Evan's sister, I felt guilty for subjecting Harry to the kind of life he would lead under her care. But the fact remained; Lily had no other blood relatives other than her elder brother and sister._

_"I thought…you were going…to keep her…safe," Severus Snape Apparated into the centre of my office, intoxicated and an absolute mess. He sobbed heavily and collapsed onto my carpeted floor. Swiftly I jumped to my feet and walked around my desk towards him._

_"She and James put their faith in the wrong person," I replied evenly. "Rather like you, Severus. Weren't you hoping that Lord Voldemort would spare her?"_

_"YOU were supposed to save her…" he cried angrily. It had been years since a fellow wizard had raised their voice to me. Tonight alone, Sirius, Lily and Severus had all furiously voiced their opinions and anger towards me. It was a terrible sensation; I felt like I deserved to crawl up into corner._

_"Her boy survived. He has her eyes, precisely her eyes. You remember the shape and colour of Lily Evans's eyes. I am sure?"_

_"DON'T!" bellowed Snape. I backed away from the man curled up on my floor quickly and returned to my desk drawers. I pulled out a small photo James had sent me months ago, of the young Harry playing around on the grass outside Godric's Hollow. Walking back towards Severus, I hoped against all odds he would agree to be a spy for me, whenever the Dark Lord rose again._

_"The Dark Lord will return Severus, and Harry Potter will be in terrible danger when he does," I shoved the moving photo before the Death Eater's eyes and watched quietly as his face brightened with recognition. "If you loved Lily Evans, if you truly loved her, then your way forward is clear." It wasn't long before Severus agreed to become the new Potions Master at Hogwarts under my supervision, as well as a secret spy for The Order. He left my office miserably; but with a purpose and new resolve. _

_I returned to my desk rather satisfied. Reasoning with the Death Eater had been easier than I had anticipated. Once I had completed my necessary spiel to Petunia on the parchment, I gathered my cloak and wand for the second time that evening and Apparated to Privet Drive, Little Whinging. I met with Professor McGonagall and my favourite Groundskeeper._

_"Hagrid," I said relieved, as he landed across the street. "At last. And where did you get that motorbike?"_

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_A/N: **Firstly**** please REVIEW guys!** I'm dying to hear what you all think. And secondly, I really hope you guys found this chapter interesting, please remember that this is only MY version of what I'd like to have happened. I am trying to give you all something to appreciate :D sincere apologies that it is coming together so slowly. For all the Lily fans out there, HANG IN THERE! And to all those readers who are disgusted by Lily's lack of concern for her son and overall worry for her niece... I hope this chapter has given you a slight change of heart **! ** xx_


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